Sisters
by RedBelle94
Summary: "We've had our moments. The good times, the bad times, even the crazy times. I remember all the times I felt helpless, but you've always pulled me up. Without you, I don't know where I'd be today. Because of you, I feel as if I can do the impossible. Thanks to you, I can be true to myself."
1. Chapter 1

**I was originally put off writing for a while as I felt as if I wasn't as good as some of the best writers I've come across. I've posted this fanfiction on WattPad but another writer whose work I enjoyed had asked me if I'd consider posting this onto Fanfiction. I would like to thank the BeautifulNerd for giving me that push to post on again and thank you to ReadingxTherapy for her opinion on my original character who will have a main role in this story.**

 **Anyway I hope you enjoy!**

The navy KA pulled over to the car park outside of the shopping centre, parked next to a silver Porsche and a green Ford Focus. The door opened and out came the driver with her red converts and her leggings as black as coal. She turned her head swiftly, throwing her blonde, windswept plait to the side of her face. She took her glasses off, and delved into her small, red backpack to pull out her case to store them.

Her car had been her only protection from Mother Nature's force. Now that she got out of the car, she pulled her green tartan shirt over her grey t-shirt. She locked her car and put the keys in her backpack and threw it over her shoulders.

Sally McVay only moved to Holby last week and had just finished unpacking, but now she decided that it was about time she got to know the area on her own before she starts work next week. She's been to Holby a couple of times before, but at the time, she was visiting the area with her friend. Now that she's here on her own, she can start afresh and get to know the area and the locals for herself.

* * *

He is currently recovering from his boyfriend turning himself into the police for attacking his brother, believing that he was responsible for his death. He tried to convince him to tell the police it was self-defence but Mickey refused, claiming he and his family had destroyed so many lives. Ruining his was the worst Mickey had done, but he felt that Mickey only ruined his life by ending things with him.

Jez's heart felt empty. It was as if a hole opened up and all of his emotions fell out of place, all but one.

Sadness.

He hadn't felt like this about anyone and he wasn't sure if he could feel the same way towards another person. When he first met Mickey, there was something about him that made him stand out from the crowd. It turns out, he was trying to please his family. Something Jez completely understand as he also felt as if he needed to please his family.

Jez thought back to his and Mickey's first date, shortly after Cal's death. They were in the coffee shop which often opens for 24 hours. Jez always ordered the Gingerbread latte but was surprised to learn that Mickey never tried the flavoured lattes. He ended up ordering five small lattes and convinced Mickey to try each one...eventually, Mickey settled for the hazelnut latte, purely because of Jez's eyes.

Jez eventually decided that he needed to replace the sad feelings of Mickey's departure and focus on the happy memories and decide to head to the coffee shop.

* * *

She's regretted her decision now. Everyone all looked as if they knew they were going and there was her, lost with no direction. She just followed her instinct even though she knew she shouldn't. Sally wanted to head back to her car and ask her friend for directions again.

"Do you really want to risk your insurance going up again Tails?" she asked herself, using her nickname that she had since she was six years old, "You've know what happens every time you gave her a map!"

Tails was about to admit defeat and try again tomorrow when she noticed a coffee shop opposite the road to where she is. How long had she's been in Holby and not given herself a treat of a plain latte with sweet and salted popcorn poured over the top? It was always the ideal solution to a crisis.

And getting lost in an unfamiliar place is a crisis.

Tails crossed the road and headed towards the coffee shop.

* * *

Jez regretted the decision now after settling down at the table to find everyone laughing and talking. He realised that coming alone was a bad idea and all he wanted to do was leave and run. Even the staff were laughing with the customers which made him feel worse. Counting his loss, he was about to get up but accidently knocked into a girl, causing her to spill her latte onto her grey t-shirt.

"Oh my God," he exclaimed, letting her set her drink to one side, "I am so sorry, let me get you another drink."

Jez noticed that the girl was looking at him with confusion. She must have noticed that he was in a hurry to get out of there but didn't spot her approaching the table next to him. He suddenly noticed that she was alone as well, either that or she was waiting for someone to turn up.

"Don't worry," she replied starting to giggle, "You're about to head off. Don't let me stand in the way."

"No," Jez insisted, grabbing his wallet, "You've bought a large plain latte and now you've got half the content over you. It's my fault, so let me make it up to you."

"I was going to put popcorn on top of it anyway," she laughed, looking at him, "Anyway you look like you could do with a drink yourself. Let me get this one."

Jez paused at her statement. She must have known that he came here on his own. It was only then he started to take in her appearance. Her grey t-shirt was covered by an unbuttoned green tartan shirt which had been slightly ruined by the coffee stain over it. He noticed her blonde hair tied up in a messed-up plait, clearly looking as if she had a fight with mother nature and lost. Her pink lips curved up in a big smile and he noticed that her eyes were a deep shade of blue.

It soon dawned on Jez that she was here for a reason as well and decided to let her follow that realisation on her own.

"No, its my fault," Jez insisted, "I wasn't looking where I was going and, what did you just say?"

"Let me get this one?" she stated, staring at him. Her eyes telling him that she was confused.

"No," Jez answered, "About the popcorn."

* * *

Tails watched as the gentleman went to the bar to order two lattes and a bag of popcorn. When she first laid eyes on him, it was clear that he was trying to make a quick getaway as something or someone was clearly troubling him. She beamed as he came back with the tray consisting of two large mugs of latte and the bag of popcorn.

"This is your solution to all of life's problems?" he asked as she nodded, "Sweet and salted, just wrong!"

"That's what I thought," she laughed, "We only created this by accident. We called it the "Latte by Accident!""

"Sorry?" he exclaimed, "Someone else is mad enough to try this?"

"You're trying it right now!" Tails giggled, "What's wrong? You don't look the type to be a chicken!"

"I'll show you whose chicken!" he glared at her before gulping the strange combination.

Tails watched as he set the drink down and process what he just gulped down his oesophagus. She watched as he rolled his tongue in the inside of his cheeks. She can tell by this curiosity that he didn't feel the need to vomit like the last guy did. But she was happy to see that look on his face, at least he didn't look so gloomy anymore.

"It's amazing," he commented, "And you and your mate came up with this by accident?"

"Completely," she beamed with her teeth showing, "Thank you."

* * *

Jez was alarmed by the taste of the latte. He didn't consider the confusion between savoury and sweetness. It's not too sweet and the salt had cancelled out the sugar slightly and the squishy feeling of the moistened popcorn adds to the satisfaction, it was almost as if he was eating marshmallows. He cannot believe how something so strange can be so good.

But what really alarmed him was that for a full fifteen minutes, he completely forgot about Mickey. All that mattered at this moment was spending time learning about a strange combination that he had never heard of before. He couldn't believe this moment had been a coincidence as if he was looking where he was going, he would have still been depressed. All because of this girl.

So why was she thanking him?

"You've helped me over my depression," he responded, "I knocked a drink over you and you took my mind off things. Why are you thanking me?"

"I was starting to regret coming into town," she replied, "I'm new to the area and I thought I have a look around and look at some places to relax. I got lost so I thought I'd come in here and hopefully someone could help me get to back to the shopping centre where I left my car."

Jez couldn't stop himself. The girl must have braved the windy spell, got stranded in an unfamiliar environment and then some muppet knocked a drink over her in a cafe (in which she may not know is the only cafe open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week). All she was trying to do is find her way back to her car, then she helped him over his depression. Jez realised that he would still be depressed if he was looking where he was going. He couldn't stop himself and burst out laughing at this twist of faith.

"I'm sorry," she tilted her head to the left, "Did my eyes deceive me or did I just see you smile?"

Jez suddenly became alarmed by her cheeky grin. He felt captivated by her charm as if she was casting a spell. Her witchcraft was already working already and now she was starting to tease him. Well, two can play at that game.

"Get lost," Jez playfully turned his head and tilted his head down to hide his smile.

"I'm already lost," she pointed out sticking her tongue, "You're smiling."

"Why didn't you book a tour guide?"

"I have a friend who lives here," she explains herself, "But every time she's on map duty, we get into an accident. Asking her for directions means explaining to my insurance provider that I'm willing to pay more money."

Jez laughed at her comment, realising how alike the pair of them are. He loved the fact that she holds no prisoners, even though she is often the victim of disaster. Her windswept hair kept falling off her should and he noticed she kept turning her head to bring her hair back into place. He can smell banana every time she does it, so can guess what shampoo she uses. Her tartan shirt although unbuttoned is neat and from the look of her blue eyes, she appeared to be interested in his backstory. Jez isn't sure what it is about her, but he wants to find out.

"Look," Jez stood up and held his arm out towards her, "You've got me out of my black hole. As a way of saying "Thank you" for that and "I'm sorry" for knocking your drink over you, I will step forward and be your tour guide."

Jez noticed as her face turned into astonishment. A fresh face in Holby who was trying to find her way around by exploring. Jez can remember all the times he wanted to explore several places and saw a bit of himself in the girl. He still felt guilty for the coffee as the stain on her t-shirt might not come off.

But she helped him, it's the least he can do.

"Okay then," she beamed, "I accept your offer tour guide, err..."

Jez suddenly kicked himself with her response. He had taken in so much notice in her, talked to her and not one time he had asked for her name. This girl must have a horrible image of him that he didn't introduce himself properly.

"Jez," he introduced himself holding his hand out, "Jez Andrews."

"Tails," she grinned, taking his hand, "Tails McVay."

"Oh, you'd be a great distraction for a coin toss with a name like that," Jez chuckled, "I'm assuming nickname?"

"That's right," Tails answered, grabbing her red bag and draping it over her shoulders, "That's how far it'll go."

* * *

Tails had a fantastic time touring around Holby with Jez for a tour guide. Within the past hour, they've walked through the garden surrounding the Holby fountain with doves at each quarter and sat on the bench near the market square, where she came across a Nottingham Panthers stall, confusing Jez.

"I never knew who they were," he laughed as they walked along the car park where Tails's car was parked, all alone.

"They're an ice hockey team," she explained, "I can remember going to the ice rink with my friends when we discovered an upcoming game. My friend RB was relieved since when we go to the rink, it was normally to see her perform her new figure skating routine."

"I'd be as well," Jez admitted, "I can't skate."

"Nor can I," Tails explained, delving into her bag and grabbing her keys, "Thank you for today. I wish I could see you again."

Tails felt saddened that she'd had to part ways with Jez as she's been having a good time getting to know him and know there is a one in a million chances that she'll see him again. She had a good time with him. She wanted to see him again but the only way she'll possibly be able to do that is if he has an accident and will need emergency treatment.

"Maybe you will," he grinned, "Holby is a small place."

"It is," she smiled, feeling reassured before opening her car door, "I need to get going now. It was nice meeting you. And Mickey is not worth the sadness."

"Mickey who?" Jez laughed, "Thank you for everything Tails. I hope you settle in Holby well."

"I will do," she grinned before climbing in her car, "If everyone in Holby are like you."

Tails watched Jez smile before she started her car. Jez watched her set off before walking off in the other direction. Tails smiled back, knowing that she'll enjoy his brand-new change in her life...

...little did she know, she'll be seeing Jez again soon.

* * *

After dealing with three-night shifts in a row, Lily Chao was relieved to finally have the night off to spend with Iain who was recovering from a night shift himself. Lily tried to hold sleep off with coffee and a long list of movies just so she can settle to sleep in Iain's arms. She's even admitted his chest was more comfortable than her own pillows. Lily cannot imagine the last time she was willing to give up sleep for anyone.

"So," Iain asked as he settled down next to Lily, stretching his arm out as an invitation to her, "Anyway idea on what you would like to do?"

"Can we just stay like this?" Lily asked, accepting the invitation, tucking her head under his chin, "This is all I needed."

"I don't see why not?" he chuckled, stroking her stomach, "It's just you and me- "

 _Buzz!_

"And the doorbell!" Iain grunted, removing himself from Lily as she walked over to her front door to find out whose calling.

Lily left the sitting room and walked towards the front door of her flat. It's rarely often she has unplanned visitors and everyone had spotted her and Iain leaving work together in the morning so it was unclear that they'll be interrupting them. She was confused about who could potentially be visiting or knocking on the door? She hadn't ordered anything online and she and Iain didn't order any takeout either. Lily pressed the intercom to try and find out who is calling.

"Hello?" she called out, "Who is it?"

"It's me!" a familiar voice answered through the intercom, "Are you free or is Iain there?"

Although she was shocked when she heard that voice, Lily was delighted when she heard her voice through the intercom. Lily was shocked because she didn't know she was in Holby but was happy because she hadn't seen her since she took Iain to their friends' murder mystery party a month and a half ago.

"He's here," Lily answered as she noticed Iain walking towards her, "But come in. This is a surprise."

* * *

Alicia and Max decided to spend their day off relaxing in the house when they noticed Jez walking in. They expected to see him sulking over his heartbreak with Mickey dumping him, but what they did see is a shock to the system.

Jez had been smiling and humming happily.

"Jez, mate," Max stood up and walked over to him, "Is everything alright?"

"You're know Mickey's not worth the energy," Alicia whispered, putting her hand on his shoulder, "You can do all lot better."

Jez looked at them with confusion and then remembered. When he left the house, he was completely down over Mickey and kept moping about him. He could swear blind, he's been annoying everyone in the ED with his constant pining over Mickey. Jez blushed at his eight hours ago self and realised that he had completely gotten over his heartbreak and smiled for the person responsible for taking the dark cloud away from him.

"Tails," he laughed still remembering her banana scented hair, "I'm starting to regret not getting her number."

Alicia and Max looked at each other, starting off from confusion before starting to smile when the two of them begin to realise what has happened to their gloomy friend.

Jez has met someone.

And that someone has brought their Jez back!

* * *

"First thing first," Lily brought a tray consisting of three coffees and two bags of popcorn onto her disorganised coffee table, "When we're you going to tell me you were visiting?"

Iain can remember when he first met this girl. It was at a party Lily took him to. It wasn't a traditional party, although a good number of people got drunk. He felt sorry for her since she pulled the short straw and became designated driver to the people heading back to Salesford, just south from Holby. However, she was the murderer and bumped off everyone at the party, so in a way she pretty much deserved it.

Iain can remember how when their friend Alex suggested everyone play as themselves at the party, she halted and suggested Iain and Lily join as a team, since Iain didn't know anyone else at the party. It gave him a good opportunity to get to know Lily's friends and learn a bit about Lily's past. What alarmed him was the relationship Lily had with this lady. There was six years between them, but Lily had mentioned that out of all their friends, she's the one she is closest to. In fact, Lily was willing to throw the game and allow herself to get murdered the moment they worked out that she was the killer. Iain was amazed to see how different Lily is towards her, it was almost as if they were sisters.

"It was a spur of the moment," she admitted, "I was coming to visit later in the week."

"Yeah, I've heard you've moved to Holby," Iain commented to her before remembering that Lily stated that she's a junior doctor, "Wait are you based in Holby?"

"Yeah," she laughed, "I'm starting out as a F2 in the Emergency Department."

Of course! Lily mentioned that she was going to be working alongside Ethan. He's been freaking out when he found out that he's been allocated a mentee. Everyone believed that it was too soon since Cal's death for Ethan to be allocated a mentee but Ethan announced that he'll be alright and that hopefully it'll take his mind off Cal. What he didn't know was that Lily was offered the chance to mentor her but when she found out who she'd potentially be mentoring, she declined and explained that she was an old friend of hers.

Only problem Iain finds with her is that she is a bit of a joker and likes to take the mickey out of him. When Lily told him she only does it to the people she likes, he felt flattered, but then she made the old age comment that he usually receives from Jez. Well, it was also directed at Lily, but it was like having another Jez in the area and after his heartbreak, that might be what Jez needs. A friend to support him. Iain's worst nightmare would be the two of them meeting, but right now, if it takes that to cheer him up and it'll be worth it.

"Tails," Lily whispered, looking at her appearance, "Why is there a coffee stain on your top?"

* * *

 **I hope that you're enjoying the start of the story so far. I've posted two chapters so far so I will be posting the second chapter shortly. Meanwhile have an open guess about who made that comment in the description and who it was about, as there will be more to the story than what meets the eye.**

 **Please Review as if this goes well, I'll might do a series x**


	2. Chapter 2

**BeautifulNerd: You're welcome. I was nervous about posting on Fanfiction but it's been a massive weight of relief. I'm glad that you like Tails as one of my main concerns would be if anyone would enjoy reading about these original characters and I thought she'd get a backslash. You've been a massive help for this next part and I will be writing more about Tails. I started off planning the character and her backstory before writing the story completely. Thank you for reviewing.**

 **This is the second chapter which involves Tails's first day at the ED. With this chapter up already, I thought I'd add it on.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Alicia had just gotten ready for work after tying her hair back when she felt a familiar presence in the kitchen. Max was already at work but the atmosphere was tense when Mickey ended things with Jez, taking away the happy bloke who is always up for a laugh and transforming him into an emotional train wreck. The atmosphere died when the romance did.

Alicia smiled when she saw Jez placing his plate in the sink. She laughed as he was singing out of key to the latest song on the radio. It was hard to believe that this time yesterday, he reluctantly went out to go explore after being nominated by Alicia and Max to go get popcorn for their weekly movie night. Although annoyed that he had to leave for the shop again as he didn't get the popcorn and even grossed out that he put the sweet and salted popcorn into his coffee, she was happy to see him back to his normal self.

It was hard to believe that all of this was due to one person who he knocked a drink over. Can it be possible to like someone that you've never met?

One thing Alicia is aware of, she wished that she could meet this Tails.

"Thank you Tails," she whispered to the sky, certain that there's a chance they may not meet, "For bringing our Jez back."

Her mind stopped when she saw someone taking a deep breath outside the ED entrance. She must be the new junior doctor starting today.

* * *

As she approached closer to the destination, the butterflies started to flicker. The caterpillars in her stomach must have had a longer lifespan than she thought. She never felt that nervous at her last place so this must be a high level of nerves kicking her system into shape. Inhale, she tells out nerves to get out and stay out. Exhale, the nerves do as they're told.

Tails took her phone out of the pocket of her sky blue Mac and noticed that Lily had already sent her a message.

" _I'll be in at 11. You'll be fine, you're in good hands x"_

The best thing about Lily Chao is that she knows her well. She knows what she likes from her favourite food to her favourite music. She knows the best features Tails looks out in an ideal partner. She also knows when Tails is joking around, drawing light at even the worse situation.

But what Tails is most thankful for is that Lily knows how Tails is feeling, even when she isn't there to notice it. It was as if they were telepathic, sending thoughts out at a distance. Even after that one awful day, Lily had supported Tails and looked out for her.

Tails just wished that one day, she could return the favour.

"You alright?" Tails turned around to witness a young woman with blonde-auburn hair walk behind her, "You must be the new junior doctor."

"Is it that obvious?" Tails whispered, the butterflies decided to come back, not willing to go without a fight.

"I did the exact same thing you did," she laughed holding her hand out to her, "I'm Alicia. Dr Munroe, CT1."

"I'm Sally," Tails smiled, taking Alicia's hand and shaking it. She ignored the irritation of using her real name, knowing that at five this evening, she can go back to being Tails, "Dr McVay, F2."

"Nice to meet you Dr McVay," Alicia beamed at her, "come on. We can't keep everyone waiting for your arrival."

Tails watched as Alicia walked in before following her through the main entrance, the butterflies decided to make a hasty retreat.

* * *

Ethan had been fighting his nerves throughout the night when he knew that the day had come. The first day since Cal's death that he would be showing a junior doctor the ropes around the ED. He received the information from Connie about the promising doctor's background and spent all night revising the information in his head regarding her.

Name, Sally McVay. Age, 24. Profession, F2 Doctor.

Ethan heard that this young lady had done a placement in Dermatology but always had an interest for Neurology. He often wondered why Lily passed on the offer of mentoring Sally as the pair would have gotten on given their shared interest. Maybe she was scared over what happened with Alicia but the pair moved on from it and even became good friends. Why had the role been passed on to him and not her?

Ethan spent last night dealing with his nerves by making chocolate brownies. Baking often served as a good distraction from dealing with stress and the outcome were usually the best. Ethan always followed the recipe he received from his cousin Myra who owns a bakery but he likes to experiment with the ingredients and added his own personal touch.

Strawberries.

He offered this to everyone before and they all agreed that they liked the personal touch that Ethan had made on the brownies. Ethan smiled as he wanted to make a good impression on Sally and make her feel welcome.

What's the worse that could happen?

* * *

"Dr Hardy," Connie called out to him from her office with Dr McVay following her, "I do believe you're in cubicles today?"

"Yes Mrs Beauchamp," he smiled at her nervously before moving his eyes towards the new junior doctor standing next to her, "I believe you're Dr McVay?"

When Alicia brought Sally into her office to introduce herself, Connie instantly liked the look of her. Her blonde hair was neatly tied back like an explorer travelling out on a long hike. Behind her small, silver-framed glasses showed wisdom and maturity beyond her years. But one thing she did notice about her was that although the young doctor looked nervous, she was smiling with the biggest grin she had ever since. Connie could tell that the girl went through a difficult journey, but one that clearly set her on the right path. It is hard to believe that someone so young could look so mature for her age.

Connie had originally offered Lily a chance to mentor her but when she informed her of the doctor's name, Lily turned her down and explained that she couldn't mentor her. Connie was amazed to learn that the two girls lived four doors away from each other as children and have been good friends for over twenty years, despite the six year age gap between them. When Connie asked Lily what she is like, she was impressed with Lily's admiration for her. Her sense of humour made Connie chuckle when Lily told her that Sally knows when a person is down and will help try to take their mind off things. Connie was also impressed when Lily explained that Sally will often draw light out of a difficult situation. She can tell from Lily's description, that Sally will make a great asset to the team.

And she knew that someone like Sally is what Ethan needs right now.

"Yes," Sally smiled, trying to neatly fix her glasses in place, "I've heard great things about you. I can't wait to work alongside you."

"I'll leave you two to it," Connie smiled at the two of them before walking away.

* * *

"Would you please put that phone down?" Iain asked, annoyed as this was the fifth time in the past half an hour that Lily had been checking her phone, "She's in good hands with Ethan, you even said that yourself."

Lily had struggled to sleep within the past night and Iain's arms didn't help this time. Today was Tails's first day in the ED and Lily kept watching Tails as she kept repeating every key thing that she needed to understand in case of an emergency from initial assessments to specific drugs needed to treat different ailments.

Tails had always been the more resourceful of the two and Lily can remember how Tails had started to show a greater interest in anatomy and physiology at such a young age. Lily can remember how eager Tails usually is to learn as she often seen her watching documentaries surrounding the human body. She was often referred to as the "Swot of Mahogany Street" since she always dug into the textbooks and the internet whenever she heard about something unusual.

It was an incident regarding Tails that inspired Lily to be a doctor. At a birthday party, a four year old Tails tried the cheesecake that Lily's mother had made. However, it resulted in Tails struggling to breathe. Lily remembered how Tails's father (Lily's godfather) laid her down in the recovery position and checked her airway, eventually saving her life.

Lily and her friend Theresa were then sat down by Uncle Freddy who then explained that Tails's throat had swollen up, resulting in a blocked airway. The next Lily saw of Tails, the girl was laughing like a hyena. Lily can also remember her mother making an alternate recipe for the cheesecake for when the Davies come to visit. However, it was after seeing the effort that Uncle Freddy made to save Tails's life which made Lily wonder about what it would be like to be a doctor.

That young lady was always so confident so for Lily to see Tails repeating herself over and over and over was a surprise. Lily understood that the ED can be a challenging place to work in but she knew that someone like Tails will slide through with no problem. She'll be the among the greatest names of Holby's doctors.

"I know," Lily whispered, taking Iain's hand, "I just worry about her."

"You sure you're just mates?" Iain chuckled, pulling her closer, "Because you two sound and act like me and Gemma."

"Sometimes," Lily laughed at all the memories the girls shared, "I feel as if she is my Gem."

Lily's thoughts were interrupted when they noticed Jez walking out of his house and towards the corner shop. Iain and Lily quickly separated from each other after remembering how down he had been since his breakup with Mickey. It broke Lily's heart, as Jez was always happy and messing about, always laughing about his latest thoughts.

Just like he is doing now.

"Oh what a good day that I'm not at work," Jez laughed as he greeted them, "While people like you two losers are busy working whilst I am going to have a look for an upcoming hockey game."

"Are you okay?" Iain asked, confused.

Wasn't it yesterday that he was feeling low about Mickey?

"I'm sure," Jez beamed at the two, "Last week told me that life is too short. Anyway, see you old man."

Iain and Lily turned around to see Jez run into the corner shop. It was hard to imagine seeing him back on top form. Last week, Jez was annoying Iain by spending time moping about Mickey, looking through old photos and explaining to him how different he was to the rest of his family. Now, not only had he gone back to his normal self, he has now developed an interest in hockey.

Iain is certain.

Jez has met someone who was able to mend his broken heart.

* * *

Ethan stood by and observed as Sally carefully applied a sling onto Miss Peterson's fractured arm. So far, he was impressed with her skills and knew she was going to go far in the profession. He knew that at the start, her lack of confidence was obviously down to nerves with her starting in a new role but he was impressed. Whilst he observed her growth within a few hours, he also noticed a change in himself. He could be a great mentor and that will push him even further as he knew Sally wouldn't be his mentee for long.

"So," Miss Peterson asked, "Would I be able to play the drums?"

"Of course you can," Sally smiled.

"Good," Miss Peterson replied, "Because I couldn't before."

Ethan and Sally both looked at each other and smiled, finding her sense of humour a comfort to her.

"Okay," Ethan walked over to them, "We've finished with the sling. Now we're going to send out for your discharge papers before we can send you home."

"Thank you Dr Hardy," she smiled at him before looking at Sally, "You'll go far with him."

Ethan and Sally departed into the staff room for a quick break since the ED is strangely quiet. Sally is well aware that within the ED, things can go quiet one moment, but then it gets turned into a line of requests the next. It was the potential manic that made her feel as if she belonged as she always hated staying in one place for too long.

She also enjoyed working and learning alongside Ethan. He is dedicated to his line of work and is very resourceful. Tails felt as if she can turn to Ethan for an expert opinion over treatment in the future as he holds knowledge way beyond his years. She hoped that not only will they get on professionally, but would also become good friends in the future.

"So did you get here okay then?" he asked her as he grabbed two mugs; one grey with a blue stripe circling around and one blue mug with yellow dots scattered around.

"I did thank you," she smiled, taking the blue and yellow mugs, "But every time I come across the traffic lights, they always turn red. Tea or coffee?"

"Coffee please," Ethan answered before passing the sugar to her, "Do you know what the traffic lights say when that happens? Don't look now, I'm changing."

Ethan froze when he noticed that Sally looked unimpressed with that joke. Of course she did, it seemed to be a pretty bad joke but he thought she'd like it. Ethan remembered the last time he told that joke. It was to Alicia and she laughed at it, he assumed it was funny after her reaction. But then he remembered telling Cal that he was going to tell Alicia that joked. He must have asked Alicia to pretend to like it.

Would Callum have done the thing to Sally?

"Dr Hardy," she smiled, pondering for a moment, "Could you do me one favour please?"

"Never tell that joke again?" he assumed.

"Actually, I was going to tell you not to quit your day job," she laughed, "But please for the sanity of everyone you will ever meet, never tell that joke again please?"

Ethan smiled at the girl standing in front. At least he got a laugh, but he still can't help but think. If he failed to get a laugh out of being funny, would he be good enough to support her on her journey?

* * *

"Heads up mate," Max rushed to inform Iain and Lily, Alicia in tow, "Jez is-"

"Back to his normal self by the looks of things," Iain asked the pair confused, "And developed a sudden interest in ice hockey."

Iain is certain that Jez in a good mood because of one thing. How many people had often been perked up because something new had come up? Iain is thankful for that one person and is now wondering about who this person is. Is it a he or a she? Are they funny? Are they up for a laugh? Who Jez be a nightmare if something did happen.

"Hello, Dr McVay," Alicia greeted as the group noticed Tails walking amongst them, "So how's Ethan as a teacher?"

Iain and Lily watched as they saw Tails as never before. Iain was aware of her appearance as a doctor with her green scrubs, the same shade as Alicia. Her hair is tied at the back instead of the side like she normally has it and he had finally seen her in her glasses for the first time away from a book and the wheel. He never saw this side to her before. In fact, he was rather scared and now saw the girl as two very different people. First was Tails, the funny young lady who holds no prisoners and then Dr McVay, a smart young lady who holds no prisoners.

"He's good, thank you," she smiled, scratching her neck, "But a heads up would have been nice about the bad jokes."

"Please not the one about the traffic lights?" Lily pleaded as she noticed Tails nod, "He told that joke to me the first month he started working here. His brother pleaded with me to pretend to like it."

"He pleaded with me as well," Alicia laughed, "Sorry Sally. We should have warned you."

"It's fine," she beamed, blinking a few times to get some air out her eyes.

"Let us make it up to you," Lily smiled placing her hand on her arm, "I'll buy you a drink after work. The usual?"

Alicia and Max raised their eyes at Lily.

"Lily," Alicia whispered, "Do we even know what the usual is for her?"

It soon dawned on Lily. She hadn't mentioned to anyone but Iain and Connie that she knew Tails before. Lily wanted Tails to fit in with the group and she knew that if word got out that the pair grew up nearby each other, they'd assume she'd be another version of Lily. Lily knew she got off at the wrong foot and made too many rash decisions that people didn't like her. It took months before she let people in and they let her in. She didn't want everyone to get off at he wrong foot with Tails.

"No," Lily answered, playing with her hair, "But we can find out."

"Whiskey and coke," Tails answered, "That's my usual. If people know what my favourite drink is, they'll think I'm weird."

"Which is?" Max asked.

"Coffee with popcorn in it," she answered, noticing Max and Alicia wide eyes, "I thought it was strange first but my friend mixed it by accident."

Lily turned her face so that no one looked at her.

 _She was seventeen at the time and it was Tails's last night at home before she was due to leave for Elmworths Academy, a boarding school which is located north of Holby. Lily noticed that Tails was nervous about leaving home for the first time and didn't understand why her parents haven't enrolled her in the secondary school that she and Theresa went to. The two of them sat down to watch the latest coverage of the nights top ten music videoes when Lily witnessed Tails tense. It was so difficult watching someone who had been through such a hard time go through even more heartbreak._

 _Lily got up to Tails's confusion and made a mug of coffee, despite Tails never trying it before. She even delved into the cupboard and got a bag of sweet and salted popcorn out of the cupboard and opened the bag. The two mugs of coffee settled on the floor whilst Lily opened the bag. However, Lily opened the bag so fast, she accidentally dropped some of the popcorn into Tails's mug by mistake._

Looking back at the day, this drink had often been used to provide Lily and Tails comfort. It was definitely worth the lecture Lily received from Tails's parents after she was unable to sleep for the rest of the night.

"Sounds gross," Alicia commented, "But everyone got their taste."

* * *

Ethan walked out the storage cupboard. He had still been kicking himself for that awful joke he told Sally. He worried that everyone will found him to be rubbish now without Cal's guidance to support him. Being a mentor to the new doctor was meant to be the start of moving on from his grief but he thought about Cal pleading with Alicia and Lily to pretend to laugh at the joke. Needing a chance to move on he noticed that Sally was in the staff room on her lunch break that he sent her on and was immediately clicking with Max, Alicia, Iain and Lily. He suddenly felt a bit more at ease and decided that now is the time to reveal the brownies to everyone.

"Getting along with everyone alright Dr McVay?" Ethan asked as he entered the room, "Sorry for earlier."

"I told you not to worry about it," she smiled, "You're alright, Dr Hardy. Bad comedian, good doctor."

Ethan saw as Lily attempted to hide a snigger at Tails's joke.

"Please," Ethan smiled, "Ethan is fine. I think we need a fresh start."

"Okay Ethan," Sally smiled as Ethan noticed a twinkle in Sally's blue eyes, "I'm happy to be on first name basis with you."

Ethan grinned at her, happy to realise that they were back on good terms again. He walked over to his locker and brought out the tin on brownies.

"This is in honour of Dr Sally McVay," Ethan beamed, "Baking helps to calm my nerves. So I made my favourites, "Ethans Special Brownies". And I would like to offer you the first one Sally. Welcome to Holby."

Lily smiled when she saw Ethan and Tails getting along just fine. She kept telling herself that Tails is in good hands with Ethan but she was still unsure. Mentoring Tails was going to be the biggest challenge Ethan was going to face since Cal had died and she knows from experience what grief does to someone. She watched as Tails took a brownie and smiled as she saw the pairs' silent expression.

Wait!

Lily thought back to when Ethan first made the brownies a year ago.

 _After savouring every mouthful, she kept annoying Ethan at the pub, trying to get the recipe. It took numerous phone calls, constant texting and persistent nagging but she still wouldn't give up until she got the recipe and that all important secret ingredient._

Her mind traced back to when she was ten and had attended the dinner party.

 _That dinner party where Uncle Freddie and Aunt Sandy had to rush a four year old Sally to hospital after taking a bite out of her mother's cheesecake. She remembered as she watched Tails gasping for breath._

That day was the second worst day of her life and she was about to relive it!

Lily felt the adrenaline rush throughout her entire body. All she needed to stop this from happening again was to just shout...

"Tails don't eat that!"

All eyes fell on her. Lily still felt anxious as Tails froze, before lowering the brownie down. All memories of a four year old Tails went away as soon as she lowered that brownie. She felt Tails's annoyed groan leave her lips. Lily knew that her need to look out for Tails often irritated her but she knew that it's for the best. After all whose going to look out her?

"Lily," Ethan asked confused, "What's going on? Whose Tails?"

"Me," she answered, sighing, "Tails was a nickname I had since I was six. Lily lived four doors away from me when we were kids."

Ethan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Now, he knew why Lily turned down the offer. Everyone had a weakness that could stop them from keeping their heads in the game. He thought it was her father for Lily. Turns out, it was Sally. Lily turned down the offer because Sally was a dear friend to her. Ethan assumed that if the girls knew that they had a shared interest, they'd get along. He didn't know that they were already good friends.

"What's the problem?" he asked, regarding the brownies, "Why can't she eat them?"

"Because I remembered your recipe," Lily answered, walking over to Sally, "And it would have killed her."

"How?" asked Alicia, shocked to learn that Lily and Sally knew each other before, "Wait! You knew what she normally drink!"

"That's right," Lily replied before turning to Tails and placing her hand on her arm, "The secret ingredient was strawberries."

Ethan watched as Tails's eyes widen in pure disbelief. He watched as her annoyed look towards Lily soon turned into a cloud of relief as she giggled for a few seconds. This meant that Lily was quickly forgiven. But he suddenly tensed when Tails looked at him.

"Ethan," Tails eventually calmed down and took a step forward towards him, "I'm allergic to strawberries."

Ethan's eyes widened when he realised what he had done. Within the first day, he made a bad first impression on her with a terrible and out of date joke and then he nearly killed her. He suddenly felt thankful that Lily stopped her from eating the brownie but Ethan worried about what would have happened if Lily wasn't there. What would have happened to Tails if she had eaten the brownie? Ethan immediately felt bad and walked out of the staff room, without saying a word to anyone.

Cal would have been annoyed with him if he was still around.

* * *

Tails had searched high and low for Ethan, but she was unable to find him. She felt bad for earlier as she wished that she could have informed him sooner that she was allergic to strawberries. Tails had admitted she found the near miss funny, but she knew that there was a chance Ethan might not have thought the same. Alicia suggested that she'll go find Ethan but Tails stopped her and insisted on going. He walked out because of her, she had to fix this herself.

She found herself outside up on the roof. This was the last place she had been to and she was relieved to find Ethan there, looking at the view, watching the crowd walk past. She slowly approached him as he turned. By looking at his red eyes, she can tell he was sad.

"Hey Ethan," she asked before remember he may not want to talk to her of all people, "It's still okay to call you that, right?"

"Yeah," he whispered, tilting his head to invite her to stand by him, "Now can I call you Sally?"

"To tell you the truth, I've always hated that name," she chuckled, accepting his invitation, "You can call me Tails if you like."

"Why Tails?" Ethan asked, "Please don't tell me it's because you always have your hair tied back."

"I had it since I was six," she replied, "It might be due to the fact that my middle name is Taylor but I don't really remember. But I feel more like Tails than I do Sally."

She was glad that she got Ethan talking to her again. Tails knew that she was the reason he was down and she immediately felt guilty for it. All she wanted to do was to go back in time and convince her past her to laugh at his awful joke and tell him that she was allergic to strawberries. Maybe then, things would have been easier for the two of hem.

"I'm sorry," Ethan whispered, "I didn't mean to nearly killed you."

"It's not your fault," Tails smiled, turning around so her back was to the fence, "When I asked Lily what you were like, I felt so relaxed. She spoke highly of you and I wanted to make a good impression. I was nervous at the start of today but that was because I was going to be learning from one of the best."

"Who made bad jokes and nearly killed their students," Ethan reminded her but he was slowly breaking a smile.

"You didn't do a good job," Tails commented, "I'm still alive. Maybe next time, wait until RB is out of the room."

"RB? Oh Lily!" Ethan laughed, making Tails smile wider, "Forgot you were old friends. Cal would have loved you. He'd be pestering you for dirt of Dr Chao."

"Cal?"

"My brother," Ethan answered her, "He died a few months ago."

Tails was shocked when she heard this. Memories of her childhood were brought back to the days where the group were all together. Her, Lily, Theresa, Danny and everyone else were together whether it was to do a group study session or take part in races or even having a laugh at the seaside. Those days left along with one member of the group. She still thinks about her and hearing about Cal had brought back these memories. It must have been the same for Ethan but a bit different somehow.

"I'm sorry Ethan," Tails answered, holding back tears of her own, "I can't imagine what you're going through."

"You're were to know," he replied, "Mentoring you was my first big challenge since he died."

"You've passed," she smiled, "You're a good doctor. Bad assassin mind."

"Would have gotten away with it, if it weren't for that meddling doctor," Ethan frowned, making Tails laugh, "Finally I got a laugh out of you!"

"You're are funny Dr Hardy," Tails smiled, "Can we start afresh?"

* * *

Ethan invited Lily, Iain, Alicia, Max and Tails to the pub after work. It was the least he could have done after such an eventful day. He learned to always check to see if anyone was allergic to anything he bakes and that he needed approval before telling jokes. He's glad to make the agreement to forget today had ever happened with Tails and the pair decided to start afresh tomorrow.

Alicia was glad when Ethan and Tails came back to join them, relieved that Ethan didn't do anything stupid. She can tell that Tails is somewhat special and that she can help provide comfort to him. It would have been too soon for Ethan to become a mentor since Cal's death but if the mentee was someone like Tails then it was be quite helpful and both parties would benefit.

But something felt strange with Tails. Alicia thought back to last week when Jez went out feeling down but then came back with a new outlook for life. He said it was thanks to someone called Tails and that he was introduced to a popcorn latte. Jez also went to get ice hockey tickets and Alicia remembered Tails saying that she loves ice hockey.

Could Tails have been the one who mended her friends broken heart?

"I'll get this one," Tails insisted, standing up and walking towards the bar, keeping her eye on the table...

...and bumping into someone.

"Oh my God!" she called out, realising she knocked the gentleman's beer over him, kneeling down to pick up the glass, "I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," he laughed causing her to freeze, "But we've got to stop meeting like this."

Tails looked up to see his hazel eyes, smiling when she was his cheeky grin.

"Jez."

"Hey Tails. Didn't think I'd see you again."

* * *

 **So that was Tails's first day. I'll be writing a few filler chapters as it will explore a bit more about Tails before revealing the ultimate backstory about her. I wanted to develop the potential that Tails will have to offer, including the possibility of a relationship with Jez.**

 **Hope you're enjoying it so far.**

 **Please review x**


	3. Chapter 3

**TheBeautifulNerd: Thank you so much for your help with the joke. That was exactly what I was aiming for. As for Lily and Tails, I've been hoping to write them down as having a sisterly relationship, so I'm happy that what I am writing is working.**

 **I have used two songs in this chapter. Sting with "Fields of Gold" and Cyndi Lauper with "True Colours".**

 **it is.** **The first filler chapter.**

 **Please review x**

* * *

 _"Do you want to talk about it?"_

 _They were settled together in her bed. One of them has had a bad dream and refused to tell the other the content of that horror vision._

 _Every night it happens, the one who has the nightmare goes into the bedroom of the other and cuddles them tight like a security blanket. She always felt safe in her arms and didn't want to let go. It was as part of their routine, or even she wished that would never end._ _When this often happened, they talk about the plans that the group would have after school that day. Tomorrow, they were going to pick her and Danny up from school and go to the seaside. It was a dance off at the local arcade and she remembered Theresa challenging Lily to a one on one with the loser coming to the next non-uniform day dressed up as a clown. She laughed at the image of either of them dressed up as a clown._

 _"Tee?" she asked snuggling close to her, "Could you sing that song again please?"_

 _She heard her move up from the bed so she was sitting up before feeling a hand stroking her hair._

 _She watched as she took a deep breath before hearing her voice._

 _"You'll remember me," she sang in her beautiful voice, "When the west wind moves upon the fields of barley."_

 _She went to sleep hearing her melodic voice in her dreams, chasing away the nightmares that could haunt her._

 _"You'll forget the sun in his jealous sky as we walk in the fields of gold."_

* * *

The navy KA finally greeted the red Porsche to its left and the blue Ford Focus to its right. Exiting the car from the passenger side was Iain, map in hand who was still confused as to why she trusted him and not Lily with the map. Lily exited from the back, at least she got to play with the napes from Iain's hair, torturing him as he gave directions.

Tails exited from the driver's side, placing her glasses back in her case, stuffing them in her black hand bag. It felt nice driving other people around but she instantly regretted it being two loved up people. She was happy for Lily that she met Iain and enjoyed the fact that he lets her get away with annoying him, but she wished they would keep their affection to themselves and not in front of her eyes.

Suddenly, she needed her glasses again.

"Oh shut up," Lily laughed as she watched Tails go into her bag, "You asked me if I wanted to go shopping and even let me invite Iain. This was your doing!"

"Yeah," Tails snorted, taking her hand out of her bag, "One of many mistakes. Including letting you drive my car."

"At the end of the road!" Lily complained, still annoyed that Tails haven't let her live that one down.

"At which point," Tails pointed other, "You've spotted an "unexpected" fence!"

Lily's eyes widened with that statement. She never told Iain that story and he was going to allow her to have a go with his car. He won't be letting her now that secret has come out.

"That's explains the dent in the front," Iain chuckled, pulling Lily to his side, "Take it you never let her drive again after that?"

"Never again!" Tails exclaimed.

Although he was baffled with Lily and Tails's relationship, he was happy Tails had joined the ED. Not only did she help Jez with his broken heart and supported Ethan with his lack of confidence, he is now learning a lot more about Lily. Thanks to Tails, he feels more confident in his relationship with Lily and learned about every detail about her that left him curious.

Only now that she met Jez, his worst nightmare has now became a reality. It was only Wednesday but together, they made ten jokes regarding age about Iain and now Jez had started calling him gramps. But Iain had to admit, there was one joke he liked.

 _"So you'll make sure gramps gets home safe?" Jez asked as Iain and Lily were about to go back to his with Tails as the driver._ _"Yes," she smiled._

 _"You promise?" Jez asked, leaning over the doorframe._

 _"Yes," she insisted, placing her hands together, "I would not lie to you in front of my grandmother."_

That annoyed both Iain and Lily. But they don't know what was more annoying about the two of them. The fact they are making jokes about them, or the fact that nothing has happened between the two of them, even though there is clearly something happening between the two.

Iain pushed the image of those two out of his mind and kissed Lily on her forehead.

"Seriously?" Tails groaned, "I'm really starting to regret letting you come."

"Don't blame him for your loneliness," Lily smirked at her, "Your knight in shining armour will come and I'm certain you'll fall in love with him or her and you'll live happily ever after."

"And you'll live happily ever after." Tails mimicked her.

Iain chuckled at the pair of them bickering. He isn't religious, but God must have been aware that no one could handle Lily Chao and Sally McVay as sisters.

They'd be a nightmare!

* * *

Jez had been looking forward to spending some time with Max for a lads day out for days. He's been on cloud nine ever since last week, mainly because he had been having his daily run ins with a certain junior doctor.

He was shocked to find out that Tails is now working in the ED as a junior doctor. But he was also delighted. She's been a good mate and she's always up for a laugh and now he's been on cloud nine ever since. He wished he could show her how thankful he's been to her, but there's always time. Right now, he just want to have fun and completely forget all about Mickey.

Jez and Max walked past the local sports centre when something caught Jez's eye. He saw a hockey stick, blue with white stripes at the bottom. At the top were the words "Force". He didn't understand why it made him smile, but he couldn't stop thinking about it and felt tempted to go and buy it. It was a hundred quid, but it'd be worth every penny to see the reaction.

Why is he so suddenly interested in ice hockey? Has Tails really made such an impact on his life?

"Mate?" Max interrupted his thoughts, "Shall we go for a drink? Or are you going to daydream all day?"

"What?" Jez asked confused, "Sorry. My minds on something."

"Or someone?" Max teased him, causing Jez to blush, "Have you truly forgotten about Mickey?"

"Who?" Jez asked.

"Maybe now is the time to move on," Max advised him, "I'm pretty sure who your next pursuit is."

* * *

Tails walked over to the table, three drinks and a bag of popcorn on her tray. Two lattes and a mug of hot chocolate. She groaned when she saw Lily and Iain constantly flirting but deep down, she loved the idea of those two being together. She almost felt tempted to walk away and leave them to it so they didn't have to worry about third wheeling her.

Truth is, she wanted to get to know the story about how they got together after all. She heard from Ethan that they slept together in the hearse of Cal's funeral. She was amazed but Ethan reassured her that it wouldn't have been Cal's funeral without someone doing that. He only found out because the funeral directors called him to tell him that someone left a pair of boxers in the back seat. This made Tails curious to how much Iain and Lily had been through and she wanted to know.

But seeing those two together, she doesn't think she want to know just yet.

Tray in hand, Tails walked over to Lily and Iain and clear her throat so loud, the people in the shop next door could possibly hear her.

"What?" Lily and Iain turned to face, but she couldn't help but laugh.

"Wow," Tails joked, settling her tray down and putting bits of the popcorn in the two latte cups, handing one to Lily, "Did you two wear your room out?"

"Shut up," Iain groaned at her as she sat down, next to her two shopping bags, "Just because you're single."

"And not grossing everyone out," she pointed out, grinning as she does so, "No one wants to see two old people kissing grandpa."

"You're as bad as Jez," Iain groaned, resulting in Lily elbowing him.

Both clearly missing the smile Tails had shown when they mentioned his name.

* * *

Max and Jez left the shopping centre after managing to get supplies for their house party, well a couple of board games (that they intended on turning into a drinking game) and snacks as well. Jez suggested ordering pizza for the night.

Truth is, he wanted to celebrate the step forward away from Mickey and this party will be the best way to make it happen. He didn't want to ask Tails to the party but he wanted her to come. He pleaded with Max and Alicia to at least ask her to come so he didn't sound as if he was desperate. He isn't interest in her.

Is he?

She has been on his mind ever since that first day. He didn't think he was going to see her again. But not only did he find out that she was an old friend of Lily's, but she is also the new junior doctor. This means that he will be feeling blood rushing through his body every day, every moment he catches a glimpse of her.

"Earth to Jez?" Max teased, "You alright?"

Jez needed a moment to think to himself.

"Actually," he answered, "You can head back if you want. I'm going to go for a walk."

"Getting the hockey stick then?" he asked as Jez walked off.

"Maybe," he winked walking off.

* * *

The trio were about to walk to the exit. Tails was walking a few steps ahead of Lily, who was trapped in Iain's arms. The plan was for Tails to drop the lovebirds at Lily's before she drove off to her flat. All she wanted to do is just to have a little shut eye. She's been waiting for a quiet night to herself for ages.

Tails was rather pleased with her purchases. She wasn't normally one for shopping, but she's glad she had the idea to go. And it felt good to go with Lily, it felt like old times. All she could think about was the hockey top she bought as well as the plum jumpsuit she bought.

Wait a moment!

"My bags!" she turned, flicking her side pony tail like a rope, "I left them at the coffee shop!"

"That's fine," Lily replied, "We'll head back so you can get them."

"No," she insisted, handing Iain her keys, "I'll go get them. You let yourselves in. I've just seen the clouds, it looks as if it's about to rain."

"You sure?" Iain asked.

"Yeah," Tails answered, running past them, "I'll only be five minutes."

Lily and Iain watched as Tails began to get smaller and smaller and smaller. They suddenly saw as she turned.

"Iain," she called, "Please don't let RB behind the wheel!"

"I won't," Iain called back, turning towards the car, linking arms with Lily, "I've seen the journey back. There are a lot of fences."

Definitely worth the elbowing from Lily.

"Couldn't resist, " He sniggered, noticing her pondering face, "You alright?"

"Just wondering how long she'll take this time," Lily answered, placing her head on his shoulder, "I'm pretty sure she brought this on herself."

* * *

Tails arrived back at the coffee shop and saw to her relief, her shopping bags were still under the table. No one had picked them up and handed them in so she checked the inside and was thankful everything was still there, including the plum jumpsuit. She picked up her bags and took a couple of steps black, not looking back.

She suddenly felt a thump. She turned around and faced him.

"We really need to stop making a habit of this," she chuckled as she faced Jez and his hazel eyes, "Busy day?"

"You have no idea," Jez laughed, "At least no one was holding anything this time. My wardrobe is getting smaller."

"So is mine," she laughed, flicking her pony tail back over her shoulder.

"I'm beginning to wonder why they call you "Tails"," Jez laughed, "Let me buy you a drink. The usual?"

Tails pondered for a moment. The first time they met, she introduced him to the popcorn coffee and from what she heard from Alicia and Iain, Jez is now addicted to the drink. But they never sat down and witness what kind of drink he goes for. Curious, she decided to press further.

"Actually," she answered, "It's always the popcorn lattes with me. Why don't we try you'd suggest?"

Jez noticed the smirk on her face. It was so irresistible, this lady had just set him off a challenge and he had no choice but to accept it. He wasn't about to back down from it or her blue eyes.

"Bring it on!" Jez exclaimed, "Hope you can handle it."

Tails had to admit, but she was excited about spending one to one time with Jez. He is incredibly funny and has always been joking around. He could make the worst day ten times better just by being himself.

She could swore blind she's forgotten something important as she sat down at the table.

Never mind, it can wait.

* * *

Jez decided to go for the mocha frappé and asked for a strawberry on top of his and a banana on top of Tails's. He nearly asked for strawberries on top of hers but then he remembered Max telling him about Ethan's pathetic attempting have her killed after Lily warned her not to eat his homemade brownies. He asked for chocolate sprinkles on top of both drinks and then carried them to the table. Jez was a massive fan of strawberries and felt sorry for Tails as she wasn't able to eat any. Luckily she was able to joke about it.

"Two mocha Frappés," Jez beamed, placing the drinks in front of them, "I did get you the one with bananas. I wished I could have introduced you to the one with strawberries in."

"You don't get that problem with pizza," Tails sighed, using her straw to poke a banana slice in the drink before scooping it out with her spoon and placing it in her mouth, "God this is good! You've passed the challenge!"

"I thought I would," Jez beamed tilting his head forward, "I never tried it with bananas, I only got you it because I knew you were allergic to the true recipe."

Jez missed Tails's smirk as she poked another piece into her coffee and scooped it out. He suddenly widened his eyes when he saw that she was going to be aiming the piece into his own mouth. Opening his lips, he savoured the taste. It was a bit more normal than the popcorn latte but that was because bananas were usually sweet. In fact, he could taste the combination of chocolate and banana. He was glad Tails had done that, otherwise he'd had missed out on that sweetness.

"Can't believe you've done that!" he chuckled, "You are as bad as me."

"We make a good team, " Tails smiled, her blue eyes glitters at his hazel ones, "Don't tell me stuff like that!"

* * *

Tails couldn't help herself. She was enjoying being with Jez. They got on so well and had found that they like the same things. Everything that she sees now is going to remind her of him. From the ice cream van to when he bought her a 99 to the record shop where they were looking at old CDs. Tails couldn't remember the last time she was this happy.

She stopped in her tracks, confusing Jez who was walking alongside her when she saw the most touching scene that she had ever come across.

A young girl with brunette plaits on each side was holding the hand of her sister. She appeared to be two years older than her but she never took her eyes off her younger companion. Tails can tell from their appearance that these two girls were sisters with her facial tones and their brunette locks. It was the fact that they appeared close which made her smile.

"Can you sing it please?" the younger of the two asked.

Tails laughed as she watched the older sister sigh, taking a breath.

"You with those sad eye," she sang, "Don't be discouraged."

Tears started to form in Tails's eyes as she took that image in. She did her best not to react but she couldn't help but let them form. She can still remember the day the nightmare happened and she simply wished that they could share those memories again.

"You okay?" Jez snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah," she smiled, turning to him, "I love the song. It's amazing that they know it."

"Cyndi Lauper is one of my parents' favourites," Jez chuckled, "They used to make us listen to it every day."

"Either that or "Girls just want to have fun"," Tails laughed before she walked off, Jez hot in here pursuit.

* * *

"So what was your favourite song?"

Tails already knew the answer when Jez asked her. She can remember listen to her voice at night and during the day as she sang to her and their friends. There was a field in Salesford where she grew up that she recalled would be the exact fields of gold. Every time she was there, she felt as if she was right with her, giving her the most important advice that she would need in a crisis.

"Fields of Gold," she answered, "It reminds me of a place at Salesford. We used to go there about three times a week."

Jez smiled as he tried to picture her description. He can easily imagine golden grass rustling with the wind. The salted air guiding him through the deepest delves of the land and the birds tweeting songs that he could only hear through music. Jez wondered if Tails ever considered going back to the field, he would love to go there with her, it sounded beautiful.

"What about you?" Tails asked, tilting her head.

Oh, he remember winding Iain up with this one!

"Shut up and Dance With Me," Jez answered.

"Oh I love that one!" Tails jumped and laughed, remembering playing it out loud every time she heard it on the radio.

"I sing it loud at work just to wind Iain up!"

Tails's eyes widened! She's suddenly remembered that all important thing, she said five minutes!

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed, "I'm so stupid. I told RB and Iain that I was only going to be five minutes! Oh Lily's going to kill me!"

Tails bid her farewell to Jez, giving him a hug to thank him for an exciting day out. Jez watched and waved as she ran off towards the car park, swearing blind he could see flames leftover. He chuckled at her. It's clear she is Venus, the goddess of fire, and he hoped that he would never see that fire burn out. It what made her special.

He cannot believe this is the third outing he and Tails had been on together and he was looking forward to spending more time with her.

Jez just wish that the next day out they have together, it's planned.

* * *

 **Two days later**

"Would you stop humming that song please?" he shouted, getting more irritated, "I'm beginning to miss Walk the Moon!"

Jez could not stop humming "Fields of Gold" at work, completely testing Iain's patience. He had that song on his mind a log with Tails's description of what it reminded her of. He can picture the two of them laying in the grass, watching the clouds. Jez knew that he could never get Tails out of his mind.

She's a picture that will never fade.

"Sorry," Jez chuckled, "I bumped into Tails a couple of days ago. She forgot her shopping bags so I asked her if she would like to have a-"

"Wait," Iain interrupted him, "Are you saying, that you're the reason me and Lily were left in what can only be described as the most uncomfortable car in the world for two hours?"

"Maybe," Jez admitted, completely forgetting the crucial part of he story.

"And still nothing had happened," Iain mumbled under his breath.

* * *

Tails had just finished work and was relieved to see that it wasn't so busy at the garage. It's been two weeks since she last cleaned her car and quite frankly, she couldn't wait.

Her mind traced back to Jez and the conversation that they had regarding music. Seeing those two girls reminded her of the nightmare that the two of them didn't discuss. She remembered feeling safe in her arms and protected, not want to escape into the open world. Any stranger she had met wouldn't know who she was and Tails didn't want to tell anyone as it was too painful. She wanted to talk about her but would they understand?

Would Jez understand?

Cleaning the car was a massive distraction for her. She hated the thought of having a messy car and to everyone's surprise she has that one rare love of cleaning her car. Tails knew that the best thing to do would be to pick up all rubbish that she found as she laughed about how they managed to get there in the first place.

Whilst picking up the remains of the rubbish, she froze when she saw an offending item in the back seat of the car. She picked up a black lacy bra. She slept in here car long enough to know that this is the most uncomfortable car she's ever driven and she would never wear any bra that is black as she always wore light coloured shirt that can easily show the bra.

"Lily!"

Suddenly, she didn't feel so guilty about leaving them in her car for a few hours anymore.

* * *

 **Hope you liked that one. There will be two more filler chapters before we go back to the main story. This gives me an opportunity to explore Tails a bit more before going into her backstory.** **Please review x**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for ReadingxTherapy, TheBeautifulNerd and User73585906 for your comments, as they've been helpful.**

 **This isn't the best of my work, but I thought I would post it so I can gain an idea for the third and final filler.**

 **Here it is, enjoy x**

* * *

Jez had been a constant annoyance to Iain, but this is without a doubt the most irritating thing about him!

It is clear to everyone that Jez likes Tails. He smiles whenever she speaks, he chuckled at every one of her jokes and he even takes a deep breath every night out they have together when she tosses her ponytail to one side. Iain can tell the signs when someone takes an interest just by reacting to every small detail. Jez had even picked up interests that Tails enjoys, including that horrible coffee with popcorn!

Although he was annoyed with Tails for last week (despite enjoying one hour of the ordeal and getting a free drink out of it as a way of making up for it), he was happy to hear about the "date" she had with Jez. He was irritated when she started to sing "Shut Up and Dance with Me" out loud on the radio, even though she had a good voice; but she at least smiled. She even waved at Jez every time he walked past in the ED. The feeling is obviously mutual.

But neither of them are making the first move.

That's the irritating part. Both parties clearly have feelings for the other, but no one is making the first move. In fact, nothing came out of that three-hour delay. It was as if they were scared in case something went wrong.

Enough is enough!

Those two just need a little push in the right direction.

* * *

Iain grinned when he saw Ethan and Tails in the staffroom. Since that first day, they formed a strong team and became more like partners in crime than they did mentor and student. He watched as Ethan laughed at something Tails had said, clearly the two were on their break. Must be some medical joke that Iain wouldn't understand.

He decided to forget about watching the two interact with each other and entered the staffroom.

"Hey mate," Iain greeted Ethan before turning to Tails, "Deserter."

"I did feel guilty for that," Tails reminded him, "But after I found the evidence of what you two got up to, we're even! In the back of my car! What were you thinking?"

"I know you knew about the hearse," Iain countered at her, "You left us in the back of your car for two hours. So, let me answer your question with this. What were _you_ thinking?"

Ethan laughed at this statement, causing Iain and Tails to frown at him. Ethan knew just then to shut up.

"Anyway," Iain changed the subject, remembering his plan, "Have you got any plans for tonight? I really need your help."

"Sure," Tails answered, "What was the plan?"

Iain knew after every shift, Jez would often go to the pub for a pint. Those two always meet by accident so to lure Tails to the pub would be quite easy. What could possibly go wrong?

"I want to surprise Lily for her birthday by making a scrapbook with each page representing each month of her life," Iain announced, knowing that as she grew up with Lily, Tails would be the best person to help him.

"That's amazing," Tails beamed, "Put my plan for another charm for her bracelet to shame."

"She'll love that," Ethan beamed before noticing Iain winking at him, Tails clearly missing this interaction.

"I was hoping you could meet me by the pub so you could help me," Iain asked her, "You knew Lily since she was five. You'd be the best person to ask."

"I'll contact Aunt Li-Na as well," Tails suggested, "See if she have anything that would be useful."

"Cheers," Iain beamed, "I'll meet you at the pub at six if that's alright."

"Sure," Tails smiled before leaving the staffroom, "I'll see you then. I'll see you in a bit Ethan."

"Okay," Ethan beamed as she left the room before turning to Iain, "You're not going to turn up, are you?"

"Is it obvious?" Iain asked.

"No," Ethan answered, "But it did seem like a coincidence that just so happens to be the time Jez is going to turn up at the exact same time."

"Busted!" Iain muttered, not removing his grin.

"She will kill you when she finds out," Ethan chuckled, "I wonder what excuse she'll give to Lily."

* * *

Alicia had been annoyed with her father. This had got to be what like the fiftieth time her mother had cheated on him and as usual, her father had forgiven her. Alicia was happy that her parents are still together after the affair but sometimes she wondered if they're better apart. If one of them hadn't cheated, then it would have been the other.

"You up for the pub tonight?" she asked Jez as he entered the staff room.

"I can't tonight," he beamed, "Lily had asked me for help on a research project she's doing. We're meeting at this place called the "Night Bite"."

"Oh, Tails told me about that place," she grinned, "Best sandwiches ever, she said. What was the research project about and why didn't she ask her boyfriend?"

"She didn't specify," Jez answered, "And I have no idea why she didn't ask Iain."

Alicia laughed as she saw him leave.

* * *

Tails arrived at the pub. It was unusually quiet but she accepted this. It was six on a Monday evening, no one wanted to celebrate the start of the week. She peered over, trying to catch a glimpse of Iain but he hadn't arrived yet. She walked over to the table nearest the window, maybe she could catch a glimpse of Iain walking past.

Tails grabbed her phone and was about to type a text to Iain, letting him know she was here. But her phone soon vibrated and she discovered that she had a new message.

This one from her mother.

" _Has your father contacted you? I'm entitled to that toaster!"_

Tails groaned at her mother. Slamming the phone on the table. Placed her head on the palm of her hands. She wasn't surprise that after thirty-five years of marriage, her parents had announced that they were getting divorced but she just wished that they wouldn't have dragged her into each, and every one of their arguments.

She kept every one of their messages.

The case of the missing money.

" _It was meant for the holiday!"_

" _I earned that from my sales!"_

Seeing each other at the same restaurant.

" _She knows I go there every Tuesday!"_

" _I was giving your Aunt Li-Na a break!"_

Coming to Holby for a visit.

" _I don't want to be in the same room as her!"_

" _Tell your father not to come!"_

These arguments eventually got to the point where Tails had started to give her parents every excuse under the sun as to why they couldn't come to visit; Flat's in a state, she and Lily were going out or she's on shift that day. Tails had wondered why the marriage had lasted that long to begin with. In fact, she wondered why she was even born with the arguing they do.

According to Aunt Li-Na, they've been arguing ever since her birth and should have been divorced a long time ago, something Tails will put her hands up and admit, she agreed with that statement. It wasn't healthy for either of them.

The project Iain had in mind for Lily will be a great distraction for her.

But he still hasn't turned up yet!

* * *

Alicia arrived at the pub to find it nearly empty. She remembered that it was only seven in the evening and everyone one else still haven't finished their shifts. Deciding to wait it out for a little while, she decided to go to the bar to order a glass of white, her favourite drink. After the news she's been dealt with, she needed one.

After placing her order, she turned to her right and spotted someone sitting by the window, staring at her phone. Tails. Relief flushed throughout Alicia's body when she realised that she wasn't going to be alone after all. A night with a mate is what she needs, especially with a girl so she can throw information that would just weird Jez and Max out.

She might be able to get some gossip about Lily.

When her wine arrived, she walked over to Tails. She was amazed to see how different she looked when she isn't at work. Her blonde hair is still tied up but it was to the side this time, instead of at the back. She was also sporting a blue shirt which is unbuttoned with a navy t-shirt showing the shield of Captain America. Alicia can tell from looking at Tails that she is a geeky sweetheart, catching the hearts of every man who has a glimpse of her. She realised that she never really had a one to one chat with her yet. This would be a good opportunity whilst everyone else is busy.

Tails suddenly looked up and smiled when she spotted Alicia walking up to her.

"Hey Alicia," she beamed.

"Hi Tails," Alicia smiled back, tilting her head towards the seat opposite her, "Mind if I join?"

"No," she laughed, "Go ahead, I could do with the company. You seemed stressed anyway."

Alicia laughed, happy that Tails had figured out that she was annoyed about something.

"My parents," she complained, causing Tails to groan, "It's like they're from another planet!"

"Tell me about it," Tails replied, "Mine's been giving me grief as well. You have no idea what I have to put up with."

Alicia smirked at Tails as she was pretty sure, it sounded like a challenge.

"Why don't we have a game then?" Alicia challenged, "We each explain the situation and whoever is in the worst place gets a free drink from the loser."

"You're on," Tails challenged back, putting her game face on, "I should warn you, yours will sound better in comparison."

"Well my parents have often cheated on each other since I was fifteen," Alicia stated, taking a sip of her wine, "Surprised why one hasn't chucked the other out yet."

"My mum did that with my dad five months ago," Tails countered back, leaning back and folding her arms, "They had involved me in every one of their little arguments. They should have divorced ages ago."

"That bad?"

"I'm surprised that I'm here," Tails laughed, "I have a funny feeling they were drunk when they had me."

Alicia groaned when Tails told her the situation, knowing that nothing is going to top that.

"You win," she sighed, standing up, "Name your poison."

"Glass of red please," she tilted her head in victory.

* * *

Iain left the ambulance station, happy to be finally going home after a hard day. All he wanted to do was cradle Lily in his arms. He and Jez hadn't had enough time to have a break as they kept getting call out after call out. Now all he wanted to do was to sleep and talk to Lily about his day.

He turned to the window at the pub and noticed Tails looking towards the bar. Iain smirked, his plan was a success. Tails and Jez were now officially on a perfect setting for a date and are right now having a good time by the look of Tails smiling and giggling. She hadn't even looked out the window to see if he was coming.

They'll be together in no time!

* * *

An hour passed and four empty wine glasses were shown on the table.

"Okay," Tails asked as she brought two glasses of coke and vodka to the table as Alicia glad fully talked, "What was the worst thing you have ever done?"

"Easy," Alicia giggled, taking a sip out of her glass, "I played a trick on Jez and Max."

When she was telling this story, Alicia took a good look at Tails. She was uncertain if was the alcohol or the mention of a certain paramedic but she could have sworn blind, Tails's cheeks had turned pink.

"Managed to sneak a shirtless Max into Jez's bed," Alicia laughed, "They thought they slept together!"

Tails couldn't hold it in. She found this hilarious and spat her drink onto the table.

"Oh my God," she couldn't contain herself, "I'm so sorry."

"You can't top that one," Alicia smirked taking a sip out of her drink, "Trust me."

"Actually," Tails smiled awkwardly, "My parents went out with Lily's parents for a meal out. I was eighteen and just finished school."

"Lily told me you went to boarding school," Alicia responded, taking two sips out of her mixer.

"Yeah," she laughed, "I thought it was a good opportunity to bring Mike to stay the night. Only I never told my parents I was seeing someone."

"So what?" Alicia commented, "Your parents can't be that mad at you for bringing a guy home."

"Yeah," Tails tilted her head down, "Mike was short for Mikayla. The only person who knew I was bisexual at the time was Lily."

"Ah," Alicia laughed, "I swear you're a rebel."

"With a cause," Tails smirked.

* * *

Jez frowned. Lily asked him to meet him at the Night Bite at half six.

That was one and a half hours ago.

Maybe she changed her mind and asked Iain for help after all and forgot to tell him.

Sighing, he grabbed his phone, only to receive a text from Iain.

" _Hope you enjoy yourselves. Have her home by 10 ;)"_

Jez was confused. Did Lily tell Iain that she was meeting him?

* * *

The six glasses at the table had now been replaced by four cocktail glasses but Alicia and Tails couldn't care less as they were too busy laughing about their childhood memories.

"Right," Alicia snapped out of it, "I know you grew up with Lily and we don't know what she's like as a child."

"Oh no!" Tails slammed her palms on the table, remembering the promise, no embarrassing secrets, "I promised RB I wouldn't say anything!"

"Really?" Alicia teased, "Not even the origins of RB, what does that even stand for?"

"The only people who need to know that are me and Lily!" Tails glared at her, she knew that whatever Lily did, Tails done ten times worse, she wasn't taking that chance knowing what Lily knows.

But Alicia had a trick up her sleeve. She knew Tails for a month and not once had she ever seen her with her hair down. It was either in a plait or a ponytail. Lily even explained that Tails never has her hair down, not even at night.

"Right then, I didn't want it to come to this," Alicia declared, "But if you don't tell me," she placed her hand on Tails's bobble which was holding her hair in place, "This comes down. You have ten-"

"It's short for Rainbow Bright!" Tails snapped, pushing Alicia's hand away, "That was Lily's name during her figure skating days."

"Dr Chao used to be a figure skater?" Alicia asked, stunned at Tails's revelation, "That gives Ice Queen a whole new meaning now."

"Promise that secret stays between us," Tails pleaded, grabbing Alicia's hands, "Lily warned me if any secrets come out, then the things I've done which were worse comes out."

"It's safe with me," Alicia chuckled.

* * *

Iain settled himself on the sofa, still pleased that his plan had worked. Jez and Tails were possibly either still at the pub or heading back to his. It would be incredible to hear that Jez and Tails had finally got together.

Lily sat beside him, shuffling closer, wrapping her arms around him. Like Iain, she did something else out of the ordinary. But she wouldn't tell him what it is.

 _Bing!_

Lily heard her phone go off. She reluctantly released herself away from Iain and walked over to the counter to grab her phone. Her eyes glistened when she saw that it was Jez.

" _Hey, I've been waiting here for the past hour. Where are you?"_

Lily giggled at that message. The Night Bite was a small cafe that is opened till ten at night. It was halfway between the hospital and Tails's flat. It was her favourite place and she always go in for the lattes. She knew that Tails goes in to buy a coffee after every shift. If Jez came in, then it would be obvious that Tails will keep him company and hopefully then, they would get together.

" _I'm sorry. I've asked Iain for help! Have a good time x"_

* * *

Jez walked back to his house, confused as how Iain and Lily had both acted strange tonight. Could they have been trying to pull a prank on him as revenge for last week? It wasn't his fault Tails forgot about them.

His eyes widened when he saw two glasses of water on the coffee table, along with a sleeping Alicia, slumped on the corner of the coffee table. It was clear alcohol played a role in Alicia's state as there were two empty beer bottles on the table as well. Alicia must have had a good time to be in that state. It's clear, she'll be going through the consequences in the morning.

But he looked confused. There were two glasses of water. He skimmed the room and saw someone else curled on the armchair.

Tails.

He took in this image. She must have been Alicia's drinking buddy tonight. He smiled to see her messed up blonde hair still in a pony tail, covering her closed up eyes. Her arms were being used as a pillow for her head and one sleeve of her blue shirt is off her shoulder, exposing the sleeve of her Captain America t-shirt. She looked peaceful, she looked elegant, she looked beautiful.

It soon dawned on Jez. Iain and Lily were trying to set them up on a date but clearly they didn't anticipate on the case that one of them might not have turned up.

Jez went upstairs to his room and found a spare grey woolly blanket. He took it off the top of his desk and walked back into the sitting room and draped it over Tails. Jez knew that she would be hungover in the morning and he knew the perfect antidote.

He checked the cupboard and smiled. There's still popcorn in there.

* * *

Iain and Lily made the decision to walk to work in the morning. It was a rare occasion that they start work at the same time so they decided to make the most of it. The walk from Lily's wasn't far and they knew that there was a coffee shop on the way.

When they arrived outside the entrance, they spotted Tails in the exact outfit that she worn last night.

Leaving Jez's house.

Iain couldn't believe it! He raised his hands in the air. The plan worked like a charm and now Jez and Tails are hopefully going to get together soon.

Tails spotted Iain and Lily and walked over to them.

"Where were you last night?" she asked Iain, "You didn't turn up last night!"

Lily's eyes widened with confusion with Tails's statement. What was she and Iain trying to do?

"I managed to get it done," Iain casually told her, "Thanks for the help anyway."

"You were lucky Alicia was at the pub last night!" Tails frowned before she started to walk past them, "I'm going to walk home and shut the blinds. I'll see you two tomorrow."

Iain's suddenly became confused, was Tails waiting for Alicia to head back to the table that night? If Tails was with Alicia, did his plan backfire?

"See you," Iain responded as Tails walked away, he suddenly turned to Lily who also looked confused, "You alright?"

"Yeah," she whispered, "But I've got some explaining to do with Jez. I might have left him at the Night Bite alone last night."

They looked at each other but couldn't stop themselves from laughing.

Clearly they're not meant to be matchmakers.

* * *

 **Now I'm in a pickle. I am hoping to ask for some advice, I'm looking for ideas for the third and final filler chapter before we go back to the main story. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know, thank you x.**

 **Please review x**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for the ongoing support and I'm sorry this chapter has taken a while.**

 **Well, here it is. The final filler chapter before we go back to the main story. There are a few hints dropped into this chapter which will explore a bit about Tails's past.**

 **Warning: Incredibly long chapter and frustration ahead! There are two riddles in this story. Can you work them out? Good Luck!**

* * *

 _Lily loved to skate. It was her favourite thing to do in her free time and she pictured herself in a movie scene whenever she is on the ice. When she skates, she doesn't feel as if she's on the ice but she is flying in the sky. She was practically in the sky._

 _She smiled when she saw her._

" _Hey," she smiled as she skated towards the edge of the rink, "You okay?"_

" _Yeah," she beamed, walking towards the edge, "Are you ready for the competition?"_

" _I'm scared," Lily looked down at her feet, "What if I slip up?"_

" _You won't," she smiled, before digging something out of her pocket and snapping it in half, "Take this."_

" _What is it?" Lily asked her, curious as to what she is holding._

" _My good luck charm," she smiled, "Let's share the luck."_

* * *

Tails can feel the breeze from the salty air. It was moments like this that she missed being in Salesford, but she was happy that she was back for Danny's birthday. She and Lily were only here for two nights but it felt like a lifetime.

She sat on the sand, leaning back on the stone fence, watching as the sea comes closer, before running away again. The sky was clear apart from the stars glistening the sky. She thought back to the days the two of them watched the stars when they camped out in the back garden. They often played a game where they tell each other what they've seen and whoever saw the best chose the film that they will watch that weekend together. Tails thought that it was pointless that was the prize as they'll always chose "Thumbelina" as the film.

The closest she's ever seen to seeing someone spreading their wings was Lily when she was skating.

"Hey," Tails looked up and saw Lily leaning over the edge of the fence, "You've disappeared, I thought I was going to have to send out a search party."

"Always the overprotective one," Tails muttered, tilting her head to the right and watching as Lily walked over and settled herself down next to her, "Just been thinking about tomorrow."

"Thankful you're not driving back?" Lily teased, nudging her.

"Hey, I can rest now I know the route," Tails joked, "We'll have a safe journey home Sunday."

"Oi you," Lily frowned at her, "Still haven't forgotten that little drunken secret you told Alicia. Selling me out because she threatened to take your bobble off."

"My only weakness," Tails smiled, leaning her head on Lily's shoulder.

"You wish!"

* * *

According to Lily, Danny is a lot wilder now than he was when they were growing up. Even though Tails was the geek of the bunch, she still loved to have a good time while Danny was the more reluctant one of the group. He is the second youngest of "the kids of Mahogany Street" and the shyest as well. He and his older brother, Alex moved to Salesford with their parents when Danny was only five. Danny was two months older than Tails but it seemed that she was the more experienced at life than he was.

Danny was Tails's best friend. The pair were put in the same group for every class work that they did. They were in the same play group, same sports team and the same project groups. The only moment of rivalry between the two of them were during the maths test where one always scored just one mark above the other. The two of them even asked for maths homework, just to settle their dispute.

Danny and Tails always thought they were going to be put in the same classes for everything after they left primary school. However, Tails's parents had other plans. As life couldn't get worse for her, Tails was told that she was being sent to a boarding school, north of Holby. The group all went to the field with the golden grass and lit the lanterns up and released them for the first time ever. It was not only their way of saying goodbye to her, but also their way of remembering the good times that they shared.

After Danny moved to secondary school, things changed. He started getting interested in film and media studies. When Lily, Alex and Danny all went to visit Tails, she was surprised when she saw the video camera. It soon dawned on her that Danny is quite skilled with the video camera and is destined to become a brilliant director. Unfortunately, he had taken a lot of embarrassing video shots. To Tails, it could be useful as it could explain what people had gotten up to after drunken nights but it can be a nightmare as well.

So, when Danny explained that his next project was his twenty-fifth birthday party, everyone started to get nervous. Surely not everyone was too badly drunk at the murder mystery party their friend Donna threw at her last party.

"Shame Iain couldn't make it," Lily groaned as they walked to the community centre.

"He dodged a bullet," Tails laughed, "He remembered what happened at the last party, how did he remember drinking that bottle?"

"He had to put up with your "elderly" jokes," Lily frowned at her, "And I helped him down that bottle."

"At least you stopped at your mother's," Tails giggled even more, "I had to drive everyone else home!"

"You pulled the short straw," Lily laughed, hooking her arm with Tails's, "Anyway, you murdered everyone at the party."

"You let me!" Tails pointed out, "You would have won if you haven't hesitated."

"Iain gave me that exact same lecture," Lily groaned, "And the exact same words too."

* * *

The Oakhood Community Centre was a regular for "The Kids of Mahogany Street". It was often the venue for the youth club on Tuesday evenings as well as the venue for birthday parties. It was owned by Danny's uncle, so the group still go to the centre for random get togethers.

Even though they've grown up in the last fifteen years, they still start their celebrations during the day. Mainly, that was when the drinking starts and by seven in the evening that is the moment anything that happens goes out the window. It was a bit like Alex's 21st birthday party where everyone started drinking early during the day. Unfortunately, Danny and Tails were not used to the drinking at the time.

After last week, Lily knew Tails's tolerance of alcohol hasn't gotten any better.

"You think you could manage?" Lily asked Tails as they entered the building.

"Yeah," she beamed, "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Seems Danny knew what he was doing with the camera after all," Lily laughed.

They saw Danny at the seating area, close to the rink. This ice rink was Lily and Tails's favourite place in the community centre. For Lily, she loved sliding and jumping and spinning on the ice. She felt like a ballerina, just performing the latest moves. For Tails, with the figure skating, she felt captivated by the skill, it was as if the skaters were telling a story on the ice. She felt hypnotised by the beauty of it all. And with the ice hockey, she lived the rush of the adrenaline pouring throughout her entire body. She felt the pain in her chest after every injury. She loved the feeling and had even thought about asking Jez to watch a game.

"Hey," Danny greeted them with his cheeky grin, "It's our beautiful Rainbow Bright and intelligent Tails."

"Can we stop with the flattering comments please?" Tails giggled, "But thank you."

"I agree with her," Lily chuckled, walking over and hugged Danny, "Thank you, but flattery gets you nowhere."

"Agreed," Danny smiled, before looking at the time, "Well, you two are the last to arrive, shall we head to the bar?"

"Please," Tails pleaded, "Lily's been annoying me throughout."

"Not my fault for last week," she responded with a smirk, "No one forced those drinks down your throat."

* * *

It was nice to see everyone again. Even if there were only six people (including Lily and Tails).

Danny walked away from the two to set up his video camera. Tails took in his image, his brown hair was gelled into a quiff and his small, silver framed glasses shot out his green eyes. He still wears his red hoody with the saying "Dude of 2012" on the top left side with his black jeans touching his heel. Tails chuckled at the fact that Danny still wears those hoodies, he'll never get bored of them.

His brother Alex was sitting on one of the tables. He was the eldest of the group, being only three months older than Lily. His brunette, tapered hair appeared brushed to the right and his stubble appeared to be surrounding his mouth. Unlike Danny, Alex is often seen in his jeans and a tight t-shirt. Tails also noticed that his black trainers with the blue stripe in the middle. Alex had been a fitness instructor at the local gym where he had worked since he graduated from the local college and had been the more athletic member of the group. She can even remember him beating Iain in an arm wrestle, the poor guy couldn't move his arm for a few hours.

Then there's Donna. She's been with the police force for three years and she loves her job. She is three years older than Tails and Danny but she always looked out for them. Her black hair flowed down to her waist and half of it rested on her dark skin. She always looked good in whatever she wears, including the pale green top and dark blue jeans. Donna is always one for looking after the community but there had been occasions where she loved solving mysteries. It was unknown why Donna hadn't taken to becoming a detective yet, as she'd be good at the job.

And finally, Luke, Alex's best friend and is a year older than Donna. His side swept blonde hair and beard clearly went unnoticed by everyone who entered the room, including Lily and Tails. He was the only member of their group who wasn't originally from Salesford as his family moved from Skegness. He was the creative and deep member of the group. Perfect choice for the school's art teacher as Luke is now teaching at the school that everyone (minus Tails) attended. Luke kept everyone updated on their favourite teachers. Lily was saddened when Luke told her that her favourite teacher Mr Altshow had retired as he was the one who kept encouraging Lily to follow through her dreams.

It was hard to believe that a group of six clearly different people can still be the best of friends after all this time. Maybe it was the fact that they all came from the same estate or it could be the fact that they all enjoy hanging out together.

Or maybe it was down to that promise that they all made that fateful day.

"So, why the camera?" Donna asked, turning to Danny, "You're turning your birthday party into a film?"

"Well we always had adventures growing up," Danny replied, "Remember the time of the painting?"

"The hands one?" Lily asked, "We each picked a colour of the rainbow and pressed our hands on a piece of paper. I think it's still at the treehouse."

"Anyway," Danny changed the subject, knowing that someone will get emotional talking about their childhood, "Recently, every get together, we all get so drunk, everyone will forget what happened."

"Not last time," Tails recalled.

"Yeah well Iain has a good memory to remember what we got up to," Danny chuckled, "When he recalled what happened, I realised that we needed to make new memories for us all to share."

"How did he remember everything?" Luke asked Lily and Tails, "He downed a good amount of beer that night."

"He has a lot of wisdom," Tails laughed, walking towards one of the pictures on the wall, "He recalls everything at his old age."

Tails turned her back to the photo, leaning her head at the frame of the photo, when she felt something hitting her shoulder. She looked down to find a white envelope, covered in dust. It must have been left there for over a decade. But something attracted her eye; the writing on the envelope; it looked like some sort of a poem. Now she's curious.

Lily noticed Tails's confusion. She followed her eyes and noticed the envelope. Walking towards her, she spotted the writing on the envelope. Eyes widen, as Lily recognised the handwriting.

" _Let's share the luck."_

"You okay?" Lily asked Tails as she still had her eyes on the envelope.

Tails silently nodded, keeping her eyes on the envelope. Everyone else soon noticed her gaze and walked towards her and Lily. But Tails wasn't fazed by that. She was still fazed by the envelope. How did Danny's uncle not notice this envelope? Or the message that it holds? Ignoring the thoughts that were swimming through her head, Tails kneeled and picked up the envelope, swiping the dust laying on top of it.

"It's a message," she whispered, turning to Danny, "You may want your camera for this."

Danny grabbed his camera and started it up. This looked like this is going to be one of their adventures. Everyone beamed, they haven't done anything this crazy for fourteen years, not since the day of the "painted hands".

Tails took a deep breath before reading the message;

"Beware of the curious dope,

Who opens up this envelope,

For inside you will not break through,

The challenges from one of two,

But if you do the prize is great,

Eight treasures lie within the gate,

For I know that all you do is stare

You would gain from the quest if you dare."

The group all look at each other with confusion. It was as if the envelope was daring them to open, luring them all into a trap. All six members of the group had different thoughts about the envelope but Lily had two things on her mind. She recognised the handwriting; who else joins up her q's and her v's in the same way that she does?

Which leads her to worry about Tails, for those two were close. She went through the most pain that fateful day and there had been a few occasions where she caught her staring at the stars. Lily knew that Tails often does that when she thinks about her, wondering where she could be. Was this a message she sent to her? To them?

Plus, it doesn't help that Tails often lets curiosity get the better of her, something Lily knew too well.

The group watch as Tails opens the envelope, inside held a birthday card. But the front appeared to be hand made with a picture of a flower bed of lilies shown at the front. That can't be a coincidence, surely?

"This is scary," Lily whispered, "It's as if there is someone stalking us."

"Why would someone stalk six people when a third of the group don't live in Salesford anymore?" Alex asked, confused and annoyed, "It's as if someone is setting up a challenge."

"Someone is," Donna responded, eyes on the card, "Should we give this to your uncle?"

"There are three challenges," Luke answered, "There could be more envelopes like this one."

Everyone stopped debating it when they noticed Tails opening the card, she stared at it intently, taking each word in. Trying to look at what the writer is telling them.

"So, it's the curious one who looks at the envelope," Alex announced, groaning, he knew he should have taken that envelope away from Tails, "Figures."

"Aren't you guys as curious as I am to find out what this letter is telling us?" Tails asked, turning towards the group, "Come on, I'm sure we're all thinking the same thing."

"Yeah," Luke answered, "Someone is trying to send a message out, what does it say?"

Luke walked towards Tails, watching her with intent as she inhales and then lets out the words in a simple breath.

"So, you were curious,

Guess I'm victorious,

Try and work this one out,

And don't go mess about,

But don't you go outside,

For you'll find me inside,

You're caught in the middle,

So, guess this one riddle;

 _Within these four walls,_

 _Show that we can be,_

 _Fighters or Dancers,_

 _But look no further,_

 _Where no one notices,_

 _In these memories,_

 _Of our past winners."_

The group of six all looked at each other with confusion.

"What does that mean?" asked Danny, "That's just confusing."

"It's a riddle," Tails answered, putting the card on the nearest table, "We have to look for something in this building."

"But what?" asked Lily, now wondering about what they're looking for, "And what will be there if we find it?"

"We won't know," answered Tails, "Unless we find it."

They all know each other well enough to know that no one is going to let this rest. Each member of the group is competitive and likes to set themselves challenges. When they're together, they won't give up unless it's hopeless. Some want to look for the answers hidden between the lines, others just don't want to be proven wrong.

"Why don't we split up?" suggested Donna, "Cover more ground."

"Split into pairs," Alex announced, "Luke and Danny will cover upstairs, Donna and Tails-"

"Actually," Lily interrupted him, with the handwriting still in the back of her mind, "I'll go with Tails. We can cover the front of the building."

"Okay," Danny answered, a bit annoyed, knowing that Lily and Tails have an unbreakable bond, "Donna and I will cover the back."

* * *

"Why did you suggest we pair up?" Tails asked Lily as they walked towards the entrance.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked her, "You've been staring at the sky last night and you were suddenly quiet when you found that envelope."

"And?"

"I know you," Lily whispered, placing her hand on Tails's arm, "I know who you're thinking about when you look at the sky. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," Tails smiled at Lily, tears about to form, "Really."

"Just tell me if there is anything wrong," Lily requested, placing her arm around her shoulder, "Promise?"

"I promise," Tails smiled, still unsure if she is okay.

Tails buried what Lily said to the back of her mind when she turned around and nearly walked into the display cabinet.

"You okay?" Lily asked, witnessing what she nearly did.

"I'm fine," she replied, laughing at her own stupidity.

She looked at the display cabinet and caught a glimpse of the trophy Lily had won at the Holby Junior Skating Champion 1999.

 _They watched as Lily skated to the music of "Amazing Grace". Tails felt captivated by Lily's routine as she skated as if she was writing the number eight on the ice, displaying grace as she spread her arms out and lifted her left leg up. She watched as Lily turned and bent her right knee slightly before taking off from her left foot, jumping backwards in a 360-degree spin, before landing on her right foot._

That was the one memory Tails had that day. She was only four years old at the time, but it was still the most mesmerising thing she had ever seen.

Tails also noticed several other trophies, such as the boxing championship that Danny's father won in 1977. She froze when she realised.

 _Fighters or Dancers._

 _Four walls._

 _Past winners._

Lily watched as Tails grabbed her phone from the pocket of her blue and black striped shirt. She quickly dialled her contacts under best friends.

 _Alex Bradley_

 _Danny Bradley_

 _Alicia Munroe_

 _Donna Richardson_

 _Luke Trevors_

Tails clicked on Danny's name and pressed the dial number.

"I think I found what we're looking for," Tails exclaimed, turning to Lily, "The display case matched the description to what we're looking for."

* * *

The six regrouped near the display case, still trying to figure out what they are looking for. It was the only thing in the building that matches the description of the riddle. The four walls described the edges of the display case and the memories of past winners were the trophies won by dance groups, gymnasts, boxers, figure skaters, even footballers, also indicating fighters or dancers. It soon became apparent that Tails worked out the riddle.

Now what are they looking for?

"Well, I can't picture anyone being stupid to put something inside," Alex laughed, "My uncle has a keen eye for marks and dirt. He likes the glass to be clear."

"It's too high," Donna sighed, giving up try to reach the top, "I'm the tallest of the group and I can't reach it."

"I'm sorry," Tails sighed, bowing her head down, "I was so sure it was the display case."

"Stop putting yourself down," Lily scolded her gently, placing her arm around her shoulder, "You guessed right. When you realised that it matched the description, I felt so proud."

"Thank you," Tails smiled, "I'm glad you've got my back."

Lily smiled at Tails, pulling her in for a hug. It was moments like this where she wished that Tails was her little sister. Although she can speak her mind and show that she is not to be messed with, to Lily, she will always be that bright spark. Wait!

"Did anyone check behind the case?" Lily asked, separating herself from Tails and walk to the side, ""Where no one notices." No one looks at the back and there seemed to be something lodged between the display case and the wall."

"I see it!" Tails exclaimed, "Is there anything we can used to pull it out?"

"I have a cable for my phone charger," answered Luke, grabbing it out of his pocket.

Everyone watched carefully as Luke and Alex steadily slid the cable behind the display case, knocking the hidden good to the floor. This gave Luke the opportunity to push the mystery to one side, allowing Lily to lower herself down and pick it up, revealing yet another envelope.

She took a deep breath and read it out.

"So, you're as smart as ducks,

Or maybe it's just luck,

Here is an easy ride,

Since you will be outside."

"Looks like we're going somewhere else," chuckled Danny, camera in hand, "Any idea?"

"Hopefully, not far," chuckled Donna, "These riddles are just confusing now."

Everyone laughed as Lily opened the envelope, revealing a painted picture of the rainbow. She gasped. She recognised that painting.

 _As the two of them painted that picture when they were seven, intending to be a handmade birthday card._

Everyone watched as Lily read out the next riddle;

 _"You may live in one,_

 _But different to that,_

 _You see the people,_

 _Walking below you,_

 _But please take caution,_

 _If my friend is lost,_

 _Then so am I,_

 _For this paper,_

 _Was once their cousin."_

Tails instantly knew what the last part of the riddle meant. The card came from wood, which came from a tree. So, the answer has something to do with a tree. That would make the first part of the riddle a bit confusing. Yes, from her window, she can see people walking from above, but there's only flower beds outside of her window. She lives in a flat, not a...

"Treehouse!" she answered with a smiled on her face, "We lose the tree, we lose the treehouse."

"That's the only answer that makes sense," exclaimed Danny, placing his camera down on the table, "Are there any treehouses well known in Salesford?"

"Yes," Lily whispered, turning to Tails, "Yours. When we were young, we used to have a laugh in there."

"You recognised the handwriting too," Tails whispered, clenching her hands together, remaining silent. Not like her usual self at all.

"Is your mother home?" Donna asked, "I know you don't want to go there whilst your parents are still going through the divorce proceedings."

"She gave me a key," Tails answered, "She did say if we wanted then we could head there. Won't be there herself."

* * *

Tails's childhood back garden still looked the same since the day she left for school. On each edge, there was a flower bed consisting of red and pink roses and white lilies. The black table is settled on the patio with six black metal chairs. Tails can just see from looking out the back window that the treehouse is still there to her surprise.

 _It was often the most common thing her parents had argued over._

" _Sally doesn't use it!" he exclaimed, "How could she?"_

" _She can always go in it when she comes to visit!" she listened to her mother shout, "It's their favourite place!"_

" _It's about time she moves on and drop the case!" he shouted._

" _How can she?" she asked him, "A part of her is gone. A part of me is gone. I thought you'd be fighting for that part too."_

"You okay?" Tails quickly turned to her right to see Lily's hand on her shoulder, "We don't have to do this if it's uncomfortable."

"No," Tails answered, "It's as if we were kids again. Besides, I want to know what she was planning."

"Me too," Lily laughed holding her hand out, "Shall we check?"

Tails smiled, taking Lily's hand, "Let's."

* * *

It was a mystery how the treehouse was still in place after all the times the group had been up there, especially since the tree supporting it didn't look as if it's in the best condition. Green moss was still growing around the small patches all over and Tails was certain that she can see small sticks on the ground, clearly broken from the tree.

It wouldn't be safe for all six of them to go up there.

"So, whose going up there?" asked Alex, "Any volunteers?"

"I'd go," suggested Donna, "But Tails was the one who knew the answers to the riddles."

"But it was Lily who worked out the location of the last envelope," argued Luke, "Lily has a keen eye for noticing things."

"It's okay," answered Tails, "I don't mind. It was my garden."

"And she's the lightest of us all," reminded Danny, "It'll be safe for her."

"She's not going alone," warned Lily, "I'll go up with her."

"Four eyes are better than two," suggested Donna.

"You sure?" asked Tails, turning to Lily, "I don't mind really."

Lily knew that the treehouse was a painful memory for Tails.

 _When they were younger, the three of them used to camp out in there to tell scary stories. Lily's stories were more funny than scary and Tails's stories were just plain boring considering they came from a six years old girl. But her stories were the scariest possible, Lily steered clear from fun fairs since the day she heard of the "Zombie Rollercoaster"._

 _There were also good memories up there as well. During the Pokemon Trading Cards game, all seven of them agreed to steer clear from the latest craze, knowing that if one got hooked on it, they'll all eventually get corrupted by the craze. Lily, Alex and Danny were heading to the Davies after their trip to the community centre to see the girls. Aunty Sandy told the trio that they were up in the treehouse. To their surprise, they caught the pair of them, playing the addictive game. Lily found it ironic, especially since one of the pair who were playing the game was the one who suggested they'd all steer clear from it._

Lily laughed at that memory. That addiction lasted for six months but it was worth it since that was the only thing she beat her best friend at.

"Yes," Lily declared, walking towards the ladder, "Let's climb up, together."

* * *

"Everything is still where we left it fourteen years ago," gasped Lily, taking in her surroundings, before turning to Tails, "How long has it been since you've been in here?"

"Fourteen years ago," whispered Tails, who picked up her plush Buttercup doll, "Do you remember this?"

"Your little obsession with the Powerpuff Girls," Lily laughed, "How that grew from three little girls fighting crime to watching an entire Marvel and DC universe doesn't surprise me!"

Even though she hated being in this house, Tails will admit she missed all these memories that she cherished as a child. From her old toys, to the pile of Jaqueline Wilson books that were left to one side, with the front and back cover of Double Act facing the ceiling, waiting to be picked up. Photos of the two of them were stuck beside the window, the ink smeared from the top to bottom.

Of course, her stuff is up here as well. Posters of B*Witched were hung on the walls, above Tails's plush toys. Mary Kate and Ashley videos were resting on the back corner, clearly damaged from the rain drops of past summers.

Tails grew quiet when she looked at all her possessions. Tears began to form in her eyes, thinking about all these memories. This was why she hated being at home, it reminds her too much of her.

Tails then turned to the painting on the wall. A plain A3 paper which aged eighteen years since they painted it, well, since they printed their hands on it. Seven hands, varies from different sizes to different colours. Tails walked over to the painting, placing her hand on the yellow hand, stifling a laugh on how much her hand had grown since the day she printed that image on the paper, next to Lily's red hand. Tails then moved her hand to the pink hand, noticing that her hand just fitted onto it. She took a deep breath, it became real again. But as she removed her hand, she noticed something else. It looked as if someone had written on the back of this paper.

Lily watched as Tails removed the paper, turning to the back. Her eyes widen when she saw the writing, but she can only just make it out. The writing was too small. It became clear that these messages were for them. But why?

"Should we head back down and tell everyone?" Lily asked, noticing no answer, "Tails?"

"I…I," Tails stuttered, looking at the hole of the treehouse, their exit, "I can't do this."

* * *

Danny, Alex, Donna and Luke all waited in the kitchen for Lily and Tails to come back. They've been up there for hours and they all kept constantly checking the treehouse, hoping it hasn't collapsed with them in it.

"I'll go and check," Danny volunteered, taking his camera, before noticing Tails climbing down, step by step, running towards the door, "Tails?"

She ran past him, completely ignoring his question, running past Donna, Alex and Luke and through the front door. Danny watched as Lily slowly climbed out the treehouse before running back in, a piece of paper in her hand.

"What happened?" asked Donna, running up to Lily.

"She found the painting," Lily whispered, "It's become too much for her. The riddles were for us. She knows who wrote them."

The four of them all remained silent. Why didn't they realise this before? The handwriting matched the poetry that she written from the corner of the garden. She was the only one out of the seven of them to make sentences rhyme. It was clear, she was the one who wrote these riddles.

"I don't want to solve these riddles anymore," whispered Danny, "Not if it did this."

"Me neither," answered Alex, "I wished we could help Tails. I know how much she meant to her."

Lily grabbed something out of her bag. She remembered it fondly, the front half of a hair clip, completely hot pink with navy cheetah spots all over it. The back of the piece has rigged edges, snapped from the full hair clip.

" _Let's share the luck!"_

Placing it back in her bag, Lily knew exactly where Tails ran off to and knew that she wanted to be alone. But Lily knew that isn't the best for her, she needed to let her feelings show. This is the first time she's been in Salesford since moving to Holby and Lily knew that one mention of her, will break Tails.

"I think I'm going to call it night," Lily whispered, turning to Danny, "Have a happy birthday Danny."

"Thank you," Danny whispered, "We're here if you need us."

* * *

The sea didn't seem as scared of Tails as it did last night as it kept getting closer, before running away again. She turned to her left and watched as a little girl was looking at the sky, leaning on her older sister's shoulder.

She turned as two girls were running into the sea, splashing each other with water. Laughing, filling the air with happiness all around them.

Tears began to fall down her face, as Tails fell onto her knees. She couldn't contain herself, as all memories of her came crawling back. From when they were messing about in the sea to when they were competing against each other to finding the best constellation. Her hands were getting wet from the tears that were falling down her face, but growing wider as the clouds darken. Her hair started to cling to her face, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do to scream for her.

She felt something pulling her closer to a breathing figure, wrapping herself around the body, allowing herself to sob into her chest.

"I miss her too," she looked up to see Lily, eyes appearing red, her brunette hair clinging to her face.

Tails looked up at the two girls playing in the sea, about to run out of the seaside and into the warm arcade. She turned to the two sisters leaning against each other, only they're not there anymore, clearly running from the rain.

"I can't manage it," Tails sobbed, "How do you cope?"

"I hadn't," Lily confessed, "I never moved on from it. I always booked that day off and her birthday as well. I never even told Iain about her, it would lead me straight to the phone."

"You never told Iain about her?" Tails asked, "Why?"

"Because every time I think about her, I think about how much you needed support," Lily whispered, "You needed to think about the good times you had with her more than I needed to think about the good times I had with her."

"You shouldn't," Tails answered back, "Don't think about me when it comes to her."

"I had to!" Lily answered, "I promised I'd look out for you."

"And you do," Tails responded, leaning onto her shoulder, "And I'm grateful. But you need to take time for yourself to grieve or think."

"Do you think," Lily asked, knowing the answer to the question she was about to ask.

"I don't know," Tails turned to her, "I just want to know where she is."

"Me too," Lily smiled, before remembering the painting, "I've read the passage."

"Happy 18th Birthday Rainbow Bright," Tails smiled, wiping away her tears, "Those riddles were meant for your eighteenth birthday."

"So, that was meant for us," Lily smiled.

"She had you in high regards, just like she did with me," Tails beamed, taking notice of the rain, "Should we get inside?"

"Actually," Lily answered, taking the clip out of her pocket, "I want to give you this."

"What is it?" Tails asked, as Lily passed her the broken clip, "Is this-?"

"My good luck charm," Lily smiled, "Let's share the luck!"

Tails smiled, leaning into Lily's body, wrapping her arms around her body. She felt protected in Lily's arms, as if she never left. Even though she felt down every time she thinks about her, all she wants is to know where she is.

* * *

 **I'm sorry for the wait, and I'm also sorry that this chapter took too long. I had a busy schedule and I wasn't feeling well at the time. But I'm going to be setting up deadlines as I already got the main plots for the next stories in what I'm going to call the "Finding Closure" series. A big thank you to WritingisArt for your support and to ReadingxTherapy for having a go at the riddles beforehand.**

 **Hope you enjoy it x**


	6. Chapter 6

**I said that I was going to give a three week deadline for myself, but I felt so motivated lately that my brain was filling up with ideas for filler chapters. But in order to write those filler chapters, I have to continue the main plot of the story.**

 **Please Review x**

* * *

 _Tails couldn't believe her._

 _Every time it's just those two at the arcade, she always suggested to go on Dance Dance Revolution. Every time, it's the same songs. And every time, Tails always lose to her._

 _Challenging a girl who is five years younger than you is not fair!_

" _Why do we have to play this stupid game?" she asked her, "Every time we're here and every time you beat me!"_

" _Their songs are better than the rubbish you listen to!" she answered, resulting in Tails's famous "stick your tongue out" faces, "and anyway, you're improving. Maybe not enough to beat me!"_

 _That was it! She knew Tails wouldn't back out of a challenge, big or small. She changed her tone the moment she said those words. It is times like that she is happy she has someone like her. Someone who knows her well._

" _You're on!"_

 _The two girls stepped onto the dance mats and placed two pounds into the slot machine. Even though she didn't want to play in the first place, Tails was looking forward to it. It was the fact that they were together which made that moment extra special. People always said that she'll be the most important friend she'll ever have._

 _How true those words are?_

 _Tails watched as she selected the first one, feeling a little bit sick at first when she realised which song she selected._

" _Feeling sad and lonely, cause I can't find you."_

 _She ignored that funny feeling, wanting it to go away and leave her alone. Tails looked at her opponent's screen and saw that for once, she was getting goods as well as greats and perfects. But Tails was doing slightly better for a change, not missing a single beat. She couldn't believe it, she was beating her for a change._

" _Every night I look at the sky," the song carried on as she tried to keep up with Tails, "Call your name and wonder where you are."_

 _Tails noticed that six more arrows were approaching the screen in three separate pairs. This was it, she needed to jump three times to get a full combo and beat her, once and for all._

" _Every night, I look at the sky. Baby, miss you, won't you come back."_

 _The song finished, revealing the score. Player one got a B grade on her performance, whilst player two scored an A grade._

 _Tails couldn't believe it. For the first time ever, she finally beat her at this game._

" _I can't believe Tee!" she exclaimed, proud of herself for how far she become at that game, she turned to her left, but was met with shock, "Tee?"_

 _Tails looked around the arcade, hoping to find her. She hoped she went to go get a breather. She hoped that she went to find another game. She hoped that she left to celebrate the moment she beat her at the game._

 _But to her disappointment, she was nowhere to be seen._

" _Tee?" she called at the top of voice, frantically turning around, hoping to glance a glimpse of her, slamming her eyes shut, "Tee?"_

* * *

"Tee!"

Tails opened her eyes to find that she is no longer in the arcade. Instead, bright lights were replaced by the bright orange light, coming through the window. The cold air was replaced by sudden warmth, sealed by her duvet. And the loud music was replaced by sudden silence. She wasn't outside at all, she was in bed, dreaming of her again.

Maybe it was the rush from sitting up too fast, but Tails started to hold her head tightly. It felt as if she hit the front of her head on a brick wall, before facing the consequences five seconds later. Tails slid her feet onto the floor, taking a peek of the orange sky. The pain was still there, but Tails ignored the pain, putting it down to sitting up too fast.

It wasn't the first time she had the headaches straight after dreaming of her.

Covering her "Harley Quinn" t-shirt and diamond pyjamas bottoms with her navy nightgown, Tails walked out of her flat and into the back garden she shared with her neighbour Sophie and her little sister Cleo. Some fresh air would do her some good and could maybe clear her head a little bit. She stared at the sky, it looks as if it's a new moon tonight.

She thought about her dream, wondering what it was telling her. Could she just be needing a trip to the arcade? Could she be in need of some music? Or could it be that the one person she wants to see?

Tails knew she couldn't ask Lily about it without mentioning the full extent of her dream. After Danny's birthday party, Tails avoided all mentions of her towards Lily, knowing she'll stop and check if she is okay. Not only does it make Tails feel as if Lily is interfering, but Lily is also putting her own grief to one side for her sake. Tails wants Lily to think about her own feelings about her, not hers.

Tails knew that she had to talk to someone, but who?

She walked back inside to her flat and spotted a few sheets of papers, lying on her beech coffee table. Taking one, she sat at the counter top in the kitchen, grabbing her pen. She had always written a letter every time she dreamt of her. Taking a deep breath, Tails thought to herself, why should tonight be any different?

She slowly started to decorate the clean, white paper with black ink.

 _Dear Theresa..._

* * *

He explained the rules off by heart to her, going through the basis whilst placing two black lines of face paint on each side of her face. He felt captivated by her eagerness to gain an understanding of his life in the army, so he decided to show her by taking her paintballing. He immediately regretted that decision as he still hadn't been able to remove the paint that splashed from his hair. The first rule he taught her was not to trust anyone on the battlefield.

"Trying out a new hair colour Iain?" Jacob joked as he entered the staff room, "Don't think pink is the best colour to go."

"Oh!" Iain groaned, checking the back of his hair with the toaster, "That was why Jez and our last patient were laughing about? I thought I got it all off!"

"You didn't do it that well," Jez chuckled, setting up four coffees, "You got wiped out at paintballing?"

"Next time Lily asked me if I wanted to go paintballing," Iain requested, "Please remind me of this. She is ruthless!"

"Rule number one," he turned around to see Lily smirking at him, "Trust no one. Or did you tell me something completely different?"

"Just wait until next time," Iain glared at her, "I'll remember what you did."

Everyone just laughed at Iain's statement, knowing full well that he will still go easy on Lily.

It got Jez thinking as well. Seeing Iain and Lily got him thinking about his own love life. Since when did he make a move on someone since Mickey? He thought it was because he was trying to mend his broken heart but really, there might be something else or maybe someone else.

"Morning," he turned to see Tails walking into the staffroom, clearly trying to keep her eyes focused but smiling all the while, "Is there coffee still going around?"

"If you got popcorn please share it," Lily smiled at her, before frowning at her appearance, "You okay? You look a little peaky."

"I'm fine," Tails smiled, turning to Jez, "You've gone quiet. Cat got your tongue?"

"Actually," Jez took a deep breath, "I've been waiting for the right moment. What are your opinions on horror movies?"

Tails laughed at this question. She hated horror movie because it's clear that it's not only fake, but it's clear what is going to happen after each danger scene. Tails find the plot lines too obvious and she always likes to expect the unexpected. The only reason she goes to a horror movie is to pull the old "Hold me" trick.

"To be honest, I'm not a big fan," Tails chuckled, "They're too obvious."

"That's good," Jez laughed before looking at his feet, "Because I've actually got two tickets to see the Avengers film. They're having a Marvel marathon at the cinema tonight for one night only and I'd thought maybe you'd like to go."

Lily and Iain knew not to get their hopes up. Every time these two get together, nothing happens. But by the way Jez is looking down at his feet and the way Tails is fluttering her blue eyes, it's clear what is happening.

"Jez Andrews," Tails slowly walked over to him, "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"Maybe," Jez winked at her, walking around her, "I will continue to walk around until you accept my offer or give me my marching orders."

"Then you can march over to the cinema tonight," Tails smiled, shooting out her teeth as white as snow, "What time does it start?"

"Ten," Jez smiled, "Would you like to meet me there for half nine?"

"I'd love to," Tails grinned, hiding her rosy cheeks behind her coffee mug.

Lily, Iain and Jacob watched as Jez walked over to the fridge to grab his lunch that he left behind whilst Tails walked behind the counter to take some paracetamol for her headache, grabbing a glass of water whilst she was at it.

Three words sprung into all three minds.

It's about time!

* * *

"Good work with Miss Goodman," Ethan smiled, "You looked for the vital signs and correctly identified that fracture. Now with the right treatment, she'll be on the road to recovery."

"Thanks Dr Hardy," Tails smiled, "I feel more confident in myself now. I wouldn't have learnt that from anyone else, thank you."

"What did we say about formal titles?" Ethan frowned at her before smiling, "Anyway you're being too modest. You would have learnt that from anyone."

"Did you tell that joke to Alicia?" Tails glared at him, "The one I gave you?"

"She loved it," Ethan laughed, "And I knew Cal would have never have thought about it as well."

"Were you two competitive with each other?" Tails asked as they walked into the nurses station, "You always sounded as if you were second best to him."

Tails always heard Ethan comparing himself to his brother Cal. From what she heard, Cal was the more confident one of the two, the more outspoken of the two and even the most romantic one of the two. She felt sad for Ethan as he felt that Cal could get anyone or anything he ever wanted whilst Ethan was always going to be the one who gets bad luck. Tails often wondered if Ethan had ever shared any good memories of his brother.

"Ethan," Tails cautiously asked him, "Do you still have dreams about Cal?"

Ethan turned towards her, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Say did you ever have dreams surrounding games that he always wins?" Tails asked, curious if it was just her.

"Well," Ethan pondered, "When we need to settled debates we always went for rock, paper, scissors."

"How often did you win?" Tails chuckled at the childish idea of settling a debate.

"Never," Ethan frowned, "It was as if he knew what I was thinking. Anyway, I did have a dream where we were young. We got lost in the woods and were arguing over which route to take."

"So you decided on rock, paper, scissors," Tails groaned, rolling her blue eyes, "And Cal won again?"

"For once he didn't," Ethan smirked to Tails's confusion, "I did. I couldn't have cared less about getting lost when I had that victory to celebrate."

"How did Cal take it?" Tails asked amused, "And did you find your way out?"

"It did lead to a way out," Ethan sighed, before turning to her, "He kept moaning at me for it!"

Tails smiled, knowing fully well that her dreams are normal now. However, she couldn't help but envy Ethan. She hated herself for it, but she just wished she was in the situation Ethan was in...

...it's better than being in hers.

"Why did you ask?" Ethan asked her, confused, "You're not comparing yourself to anyone are you?"

"No," Tails confirmed, "I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"Actually I'm glad you did," Ethan smiled at her, "It lifted a weight off my shoulder to laugh about all the memories of Cal. Anyway, why don't we head for a coffee, you'll need to pick out something for tonight?"

"Word travels fast?" Tails asked, shocked that Ethan knew about her upcoming date.

"Alicia told me," Ethan smiled, "It's about time you two went out! Did you know Lily left Jez waiting at your favourite place two weeks ago, trying to set you up?"

Tails frowned, "I do now!"

* * *

"Seriously?" Iain asked Jez as they went to their next call out, "You pull a trick on her, saying it's a horror film at first?"

"What?" Jez exclaimed as they left the ambulance outside the building, "I'm not a big fan of horror movies myself. I thought it'd be a good idea for a joke."

"That Tails might not like them because they frighten her," Iain chuckled at the thought of Tails being scared, "Although she doesn't appear to be scared of anything."

"There has to be something," Jez frowned, "There is no way anyone could be fearless. Even if they were as pretty as Tails."

"We're in here!"

They ran into the downstairs apartment to see a young woman, appearing in her mid twenties, kneeling beside her little sister. She was unconscious, leading to Jez to do an initial assessment over her. Her airways were clear, despite a case of vomit leaning beside her, her breathing appeared fast but she appeared to have a normal colour.

"Please help my sister," she pleaded, "I don't know what's happening. She was complaining for the past few days of a headache but I thought it was just the flu!"

"Don't worry," Iain reassured her, "She's in good hands. What's her name?"

"Her name is Cleo," the woman confirmed, "She's eleven years old."

"Okay," Jez reassured her, "We'll check her observations and see if there's anything we can do."

"Thank you," she smiled.

Iain watched as Jez attached Cleo to the monitor to check her observations. The shock was clear, the only things that were wrong was her heart rate and her breathing.

"Right," Iain sighed, "We're going to take her in. Are we able to contact anyone?"

"Just my neighbour," she whispered, "Our mother passed away a year ago and Cleo's father doesn't want to know."

* * *

Just when she thought she won the battle, her opponent decided to beat the living daylight out of her again. Was she that nervous about her date with Jez tonight?

Tails steered clear from any romantic interest for Jez out of respect for his break up with Mickey but deep down, she was thrilled when he finally asked her out. She felt the butterflies in her stomach from her first day at the ED deciding to tell her that she should feel pretty scared about tonight. Her headache was starting to pound again as all Tails kept thinking about is her date with Jez. Her shift only just finished which left her five hours to go home, pick out an outfit and head to the cinema with him.

Why is she feeling so anxious now of all times? She's been out with him before, it's not the first time she's ever talked to him.

"Penny for them," Tails turned to see Lily walking up to her, "You've been on edge since you left the staffroom. Nervous?"

"Is there another word for it?" Tails asked her, taking a deep breath, "I'm terrified. What do I say? What do I do? What do I wear?"

"Be yourself," Lily answered, placing her arm over Tails's shoulder, "Talk to him like you normally do and as for the clothes, I'll help you out as your stylist for the night."

"So, you'll tell me what to wear," Tails smiled, "And I'll ignore whatever you say?"

"Sally McVay," Lily sighed, "Please don't change."

* * *

Jez never arrived for a date quite early before, but he didn't have time to look online for the films. Every break that he and Iain went on, he kept planning what he was going say to her. Find topics to talk to her about. Any of her favourite colours? Music? Hobbies?

He's been so focused on what to say to her that he had forgotten about the times that the first film starts.

Looking at the screen, he groaned. The first film didn't start until eleven.

"Well done Jez," he muttered to himself, "You left us waiting for an hour."

* * *

"Not a chance!"

Tails groaned when she watched Lily shook her head at her recent choice. A plain white shirt with a metal clip on the bottom left corner, along with a pair of navy leggings and black flats. She looked like she was going for a drinking session instead of a movie date.

"That's the second no I got," Tails muttered, "I'm rubbish at this. I'm not stylish at all."

"Hey," Lily reminded her, "Jez sees you nearly every day in scrubs and he see you in those horrible shirts and t-shirt. Has that deterred him away?"

"No," Tails whispered.

"Exactly," Lily beamed, "I have never seen you so nervous about a date before."

"That's because it never starts off as a date," Tails giggled, "It starts off as an argument."

"Go try another one on," Lily laughed, leaning back onto Tails's bed, ignoring the sudden twitch from when she hit her head on the duvet.

* * *

28b Everton Street.

When Lily gave Iain that address, he suddenly felt a bit cautious.

Once little Cleo was taken into the ED, Iain smiled when it was revealed that she is feeling better and should be able to leave the hospital in the morning. It wasn't just the fear of a little girl potentially dying that worried him, but it was also the close relationship she has with her older sister, Sophie. There seemed to be a huge age difference between the two of them, but he can tell how much Sophie worries about Cleo and how she took on the role to protect her.

It got him thinking about his own relationship with Gem. Growing up, he felt more like the parenteral influence in her life. He often fed her, bathed her and dropped her off to school and picking her back up again. When she was sad, he often did whatever it took to cheer her back up again. With their mum going through her own problems, choosing alcohol above her children, Iain felt as if he had to be mum and dad toward Gem, making a huge decision to sacrifice growing up and his life to look after her.

Iain finally arrived at the destination and turned to his right, startled to learn that Cleo and Sophie lived downstairs from Tails.

"Suddenly a sense of deva ju has hit," he chuckled, before getting out of the car.

* * *

Tails had been taking her time this time round, trying to find a suitable outfit for her movie date.

Lily decided to give Tails a little longer to decide what to wear, settling herself on Tails's black sofa, coffee mug in hand. She dug into the mug to take a piece of moist popcorn out, before sucking it in her mouth, savouring the taste and texture of the snack.

Lily spotted a white sheet of paper on Tails's coffee table, decorated in black ink. She frowned as she knew what that meant.

Tails had dreamt of Theresa again.

Leaving the letter unread, Lily spotted the crimson photo album next to it. She knew Iain would be popping round to pick her up, so she needed to see if this contained any photos of her that she didn't want Iain to know about. But looking back at the photos, Lily smiled when she recalled every story behind each photo.

The main one was taken when Lily was only eleven years old. She was dressed up as Snow White as part of Tails's Disney themed birthday party. Lily at the memory as they started off the party by decorating the Christmas tree before playing musical chairs. This photo was clearly taken when Lily and Theresa were fighting over the last chair, determined not to let the other person beat them.

Thinking back to it, Lily is often amazed to see Tails growing up from an innocent young baby to a talented young doctor. Whenever Lily looks at Tails, she sees the wisdom of Theresa. Same blonde hair, same eye colour and even the same smile. Lily often wondered what Theresa would have thought about Tails now and hoped that she'd be proud of her.

It's amazing to see how much of Theresa, Tails had become.

 _Thud!_

Lily was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard that drop coming from Tails's bedroom. Alarmed, she stood up from the sofa, hoping that everything is okay.

She knocked three times on the door, "Tails?"

But there was no answer.

Lily felt the same twitch in her head again, fear slowly creeping into her mind. She knocked again, hoping that she would either speak or open the door or anything. But still, no answer from the other side of the door.

"I'm coming in!" Lily called, opening the door, before seeing her worst nightmare.

Lily saw a high heel, dropped close to Tails's hand. Its twin was slowly relaxing itself below Tails's left hand. Her navy skirt of her dress was spread around her legs and her blonde ponytail was thrown to one side. It was as if Tails was trying to fight the demon possessing her, but losing none the less.

"Tails!" she ran to her unconscious body, "Tails! It's Lily, can you hear me? Tails!"

Lily looked around the two of them.

The carpet suddenly grew grass, the walls had collapsed and Tails? Suddenly, she reverted back to a ten years old girl.

* * *

 **I hope that I've made this plot realistic. Thank you to WritingisArt20 for her input as at the start of the chapter, I knew I wanted to start off with a dream sequence, but I wasn't sure over which one to go with. But the Arcade one was perfect and I'm glad I went through that one.**

 **Please Review x**


	7. Chapter 7

**Following the shocking cliffhanger, I knew I had to reassure everyone whether Tails will pull through or not. I was hoping that the symptoms for what Tails was going through would be realistic.**

 **Meanwhile, enjoy the next chapter.**

 **Please Review x**

* * *

 _Lily was trying hard to get a reach of Theresa on her phone, letting her know that she managed to sneak out. She was alarmed when she answered her phone to hear Theresa's voice at ten in the evening, Tuesday evening when they should have been in bed. But there was something in Theresa's voice that sounded desperate. It was as if she was calling for help._

 _The black sky was painted with bright, glittering stars with a thick, pale yellow boomerang in the corner. The walkway was lightly covered with leaves, the colours of brown, orange and yellow. The chilly air passes through Lily, trying to blow her hair away from her head. It was as if mother nature was doing her parents a favour to punish Lily for sneaking out._

 _Lily suddenly saw her destination in her sights. The golden grass clearly hasn't been trimmed for the autumn and the trees were slowly losing their friends._

 _Happy that she has the chance to find out what is troubling her friend, Lily tried one more time on her phone._

" _Tee?" she called as her phone was still beeping, "Please pick..."_

 _Lily stopped in her tracks when she spotted her. Her left red gloved hand lain above her head and her right hand laid at her side. Her blonde ponytail was swiped across her back and she was wrapped up in the orange blanket._

 _She quickly dialled for an ambulance for her. Lily rolled her body over on her left side. Lifting her right knee into a ninety degree angle, and stretching her left arm over to her side and placing her right hand below her head, using her hand as a pillow._

 _Lily turned around, trying to catch a glance of her._

 _The only voice she can heard is her own whispers, the only person she can see is the young girl lying unconscious, and the only feeling she can sense is the wind blowing and the leaves attacking her._

Buzz!

* * *

Lily turned around. The first thing she saw since hearing Tails's buzzer was the pale blue painted walls with the notice board pinned on. Diagrams of the cardiovascular system and the lungs were the first thing that Lily noticed to the left, whilst the right consisted of photos taken from parties and get together. Lily smiled at the group photo of the murder mystery party. Iain insisted on taking the photo of Lily and her friends, but Tails and Danny physically dragged him towards them, accepting him into their little family.

Lily realised that she wasn't in the field. She was in Tails's bedroom. History was repeating itself, only this time, Lily knew how long Tails have been lying there for. Her head was pounding, feeling the pulse of her heart on her brain. Lily was scared, Tails could be dying at moment, just like she could have been dying then.

She wanted to answer the buzzer, thinking it was the paramedics that she called for. But she hesitated, scared of what has happened the last time. But then she remembered, she was home. She was safe.

Lily left Tails in the recovery position, leaving her bedroom and walking towards Tails's buzzer. She 2pressed the buzzer, hoping it was the paramedics to help her.

"Hello?" Lily whispered, suddenly realising how fast she was breathing.

"Lily?" she was alarmed when she heard Iain's voice, sounding spooked, "What's wrong?"

"Is the ambulance there?" Lily slowly started to weep, remembering Iain wasn't on duty at the moment.

"What's wrong?" Iain now suddenly sounded alarm, "Let me in, I can help. Is it Tails?"

"Yes," Lily sobbed, "She needs help, she's unconscious."

* * *

Iain was alarmed when he saw them. Lily's hair was scruffy and he could swear blind he saw black vertical lines swirling around her cheeks. Normally, Lily would never let anyone see her in such a state, not even him. Lily always liked to look her best and doesn't like looking like a mess. But this is different, Lily isn't just upset, he saw something else.

Fear.

Tails on the other hand, looked peaceful. Her hair was swept to one side, still remaining in a ponytail. Her navy eye lids covered her eyes and her rosy pink lips were slightly opened (Lily was cautious that Tails could vomit). It was as if Tails was sleeping instead of being unconscious.

"What happened?" Iain asked alarmed, Tails was in the same state as her neighbour Cleo.

"I don't know," Lily murmured, "First she was having headaches then..."

She fell unconscious, just like Cleo did. Iain never believed in lightening striking twice or coincidences even. First up, Cleo collapsed after experiencing a period of headaches, and later on, Tails who lives upstairs was experiencing the same thing. Something isn't quite right, and Iain had a sneaky suspicion that these two events are linked.

"The ambulance is on its way," Lily directly whispered to Tails, "I know I complain about this, but Sally Taylor McVay, please be stubborn!"

Lily slightly jumped back when Tails splurged a small amount of yellow fluid out of her mouth and onto the navy carpet.

Iain and Lily looked at each other. Alarmed, this is the first time Tails has vomited today. She hasn't felt any nausea today, so something is clearly amiss.

* * *

Louise felt really annoyed with her. This is the last thing the ED needs, another Lily Chao walking along the ED. She's smart, she's focused and not to mention, she's beautiful. But the worst thing about her is, she has not only shown determination, but she's already pally with everyone. She made best friends with Alicia within her first month, she's taken Ethan's mind off Cal and back on being a doctor, she's even caught the eye of Jez before she even came to the ED.

Louise believed Jez only crushed on her to hide his sexuality. Throughout their relationship, Jez had shown little interest towards her, focusing mainly on hanging out with the lads, putting them above her. It turns out, Jez has cheated on her with different men, including Mickey. Louise believed that he only went with her to hide his sexuality.

That was until he started crushing on Sally. Louise was saddened when Jez was mourning the end of his relationship with Jez. Then one girl turns up out of the blue and not only has Jez's heart been mended, but Jez has been showing signs that he is interested in Sally. And today has just proved it.

What does Sally McVay have that Louise doesn't?

She suddenly turned around at the sudden slamming of the ED doors and saw her. Only she was being wheeled in on a trolley, sick bowl to her right side, in fact, she was even on her right side. By the look of her face, she was making perfect use of the bowl.

What happened to her? Why is she feeling like this?

Iain and Lily followed the paramedics bring Tails in. Lily's hair looked as if she battled mother nature, swept all over the place. Her make up clearly looked smudged, it looked as if she was crying. This is something Louise never saw of Lily, distress and pain. It seems that Lily is scared that something could happen to her little protégé.

It seemed Tails is Lily's weakness.

* * *

Lily and Iain watched as Tails is wheeled into Resus. Dylan was the main doctor managing the area this evening and was alarmed to discover that the next person to be wheeled into the ED was one of their junior doctors who collapsed for no clear reason.

 _Lily watched through the window of the door as she suddenly begun spurting vomit out of her mouth. The doctors were starting to probe her chest with stickers, before hooking her onto the monitor. One nurse was trying to stick a needle in her left elbow. Lily can remember her parents telling her off for praising her for fighting back and attempting to scratch one of the nurses for giving her an injection._

" _What are you doing?" Lily screamed, "She's scared of needles. You're going to traumatise her!"_

"Lily."

Lily turned around and suddenly noticed Iain standing next to her. He looked unrecognisable after a few seconds. It soon dawned on her, all these memories of what has happened have suddenly came out.

She made a promise all these years ago.

And she let her down.

"I'm sorry," Lily whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

"For what?" Iain whispered, carefully touching her arm.

"I promised her," Lily murmured, keeping her teary eyes on Tails, "And I let her down."

"No you didn't," Iain pulled her in for a hug, "You went to her aid, you called for help, you put her in the recovery position."

"No," Lily sobbed, pulling herself away from Iain, "You don't understand. I promised I look after her!"

Lily suddenly felt her head starting to pound. Her brain was suddenly a hammer and her skull was the board. But it was carrying the workload without anyone holding the hammer. The hospital walls was different to the one she seen nearly fifteen years ago. The doctors and nurse suddenly went through plastic surgery. And the person only the trolley is a young woman.

Not a little girl of ten years.

* * *

Eleven. One hour after they planned to meet up and no show. Jez wondered what has gone wrong. Was Tails side-tracked at work? Was Tails too busy getting ready? Or was she not really interested in him?

His phone is in his hand. He wasn't sure if it would be the right idea to call her. Would that make him too desperate? Would it make him clingy? Would it make her realised that he is really interested in her?

He unlocked the screen of his phone when he saw it. A missed call from Iain. Several missed calls from Iain. Jez forgot to turn his phone off silent. Iain must be providing Tails advice on the date.

He quickly dialled the number, noticing the times that Iain had called...five out of six times were after ten. The agreed time to meet up for their date. Iain wouldn't interrupt Jez when he knew what his plans were.

Something must be wrong.

"Iain," Jez greeted him over the phone, "Is something wrong?"

"It's Tails," Iain answered, "She's in hospital."

Jez couldn't believe what he was hearing. Tails hasn't turned up because something has happened. His mind thought the worst, Tails was involved in an accident on the way to the cinema, he was certain he was to blame for this.

"I'm on my way," Jez whispered.

* * *

Looking at the sky turned out to be a major comfort. Lily often wondered why Tails does it, now she knows. It was as if the stars were sending out a message, or more likely, Theresa was sending a message.

Lily often remembered everything about Theresa, from the parties that they attended, to the bets that they made, and to the penalties Lily faced after losing each one of the bets they made. Lily was still annoyed about the clown costume on non-uniform day but was happy to share the memory.

The only memory Lily kept locked away was the day Theresa disappeared. It was a Sunday and Theresa suggested that they all met up. Luke recently bought another disposal camera with a flash and Theresa asked if they could have a day at the seaside again. But something has changed in Theresa's tone of voice, it sounded distant and pleading.

Not like her at all.

It was October 12th 2004, two weeks before Theresa's sixteenth birthday.

" _Hello," Lily answered her mobile, ignoring the fact that her parents had told her lights out, "Tee?"_

" _Lily," Theresa sobbed, clearly desperate, "I need your help! Could you meet me in the playing field, ASAP?"_

" _Tee," Lily groaned, "It's nine thirty. You know what my parents are like."_

" _I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't desperate," Theresa pleaded, "Please, I need you to help us!"_

" _US? " Lily asked her, confused._

" _Promise me please," Theresa pleaded, "Promise me you look after her."_

Tears started to fall onto her lap. But Lily felt as if the tears were falling on the top of her head and her shoulders. Lily once again looked up to the sky, noticing rain drops falling from the sky. It was as if someone in the heavens were crying. It was almost certain who is was, well almost.

"I'm sorry," Lily screamed to the sky, "I couldn't look after her. I let you down. I'm sorry!"

"Who are you sorry to?" Lily turned around, the strands of her hair, suddenly sticking together when she saw Iain, his shirt clinging to his skin.

"I don't know anymore," Lily sobbed, as Iain settled down next to her, pulling her in for a hug, the materials on their clothing, clinging together like magnets as they let the rain attack them.

* * *

Dylan was confused when he looked at Tails. Her airways were clear, apart from the cases of vomiting that she was displaying which were immediately cleared thanks to suction. Her oxygen levels within normal range, but she was slightly tachycardic. Her heart was working harder to pump oxygen around her body, but her saturation oxygen levels were within normal range.

Just like the little girl who Iain and Jez brought in.

"Are the blood results brought in?" Dylan asked Louise, "I think we need to look at the bigger picture."

"It could just be anxiety," Louise whispered confused, "She was going on a date tonight."

"Why would someone with anxiety be vomiting?" Dylan responded, looking at her, "This isn't about one person anymore, there is another doctor distraught over her. I let Cal down, I'm not letting Sally down either."

"Okay," Louise whispered, "I'll get the results."

The pair were suddenly stopped in their tracks when they heard movement. Slight movement, but movement nonetheless.

"Sally," Dylan whispered, walking towards her, "It's alright, you're in the ED. We're going to find out what is wrong with you. It's good to see you slowly waking up."

Dylan watched as Sally slowly opened her blue eyes. He noticed how much growth this young lady displayed at such a young age. It was as if she went through something awful, and is still trying to pick up the pieces.

He was thankful she was awake, still weak, but awake. That means that there is still hope that she will recover from whatever it is that had made her ill.

But one word she murmured startled him

"Tee?"

* * *

Iain brought Lily into the staffroom, still feeling cold from the rain fall. No one had spoken about any downpours today, so for them to be caught out, today of all days were a mystery.

Lily was still too shaken to change out of her wet clothes and Iain didn't want to leave her alone to get changed. Not whilst she's terrified that she could be hearing the worst about Tails's condition. He felt cold but Lily needed him, even though she's pretended she doesn't need it.

Setting up two coffee mugs, he remembered what Lily often used for comfort. He didn't understand the texture of sweet and salted popcorn in a coffee but it seemed to be a source of comfort. It cheered Jez up when he was heartbroken and it treated Tails's hangover following a drunken night with Alicia. It can help Lily, the person responsible for the drink.

"Here you go," Iain whispered, handing Lily the yellow and orange striped mug, "It helped Jez and Tails, I'm hoping it could help you. Maybe warm you up a little bit."

"You hated this," Lily whispered, keeping her eyes on the mug.

"Sometimes you go through lengths to make sure the people you care about feel okay," he replied, placing his hand on top of hers, "Tails is lucky to have you in her life. You've been like a big sister to her, actually you are her big sister."

"No I'm not," Lily closed her eyes, "I wish I was."

"You are," Iain smiled, "You don't need the same DNA to be sisters. Sibling have the ability to sense the emotions of each other and act like each others guardian angels. I can still remember you screaming in here when Tails were about to eat something that could have killed her."

"The day she ate a strawberry still haunts me," Lily whispered, looking at her mug.

"Exactly," Iain smiled, "Tails has a sister."

"Theresa," Lily looked up, "She was my best friend. I promised Theresa I'd look after her. I let her down!"

Iain suddenly remembered. The murder mystery party, he met five people that day. Police officer Donna, fitness instructor Alex (who Iain has been training to take him down in a rematch), deep artist Luke, Danny the director and of course junior doctor, Tails. But Iain felt something amiss. The six of them were a close knit family, but when they're all together, it felt as if a piece of a puzzle is missing.

Turns out there was a seventh member, and her absence were felt amongst Lily and Tails the most.

Lily who is the best friend.

And Tails, the little sister.

"Theresa went missing nearly fifteen years ago," Lily whispered, taking a deep breath, "We were a close knit family, spending time together was our favourite pastime. Theresa loved to live life on the adventurous side. She was the leader of the group. I always slept over her house or she always slept over at mine."

"I'm sorry to ask," Iain whispered, "What happened?"

"I'm not sure," Lily admitted, "The police spent six months trying to find her. But they believed that all they were looking for is a body."

"She might not be," Iain whispered.

"Then why would she leave her little sister lying unconscious in a field on a cold October night?" Lily snapped, before bursting into tears, "She called me for help. Nine thirty at night. She said she wouldn't call if she wasn't desperate."

"Did you go?" Iain asked her, stroking her hands with his thumbs, wiping the last of the rain drops off them.

"I managed to sneak out," Lily looked at him, "I climbed out of the window. Nearly broke my ankle. My father was at the restaurant, my mother was asleep. The coast was clear and I ran over to the field."

"What did Theresa want?" Iain asked her, scared that Lily was hiding a secret that still haunts her.

"To help her sister," Lily answered, "When I arrived, I found her phone. And Tails."

This was one thing about Theresa's disappearance that Tails doesn't remember. Lily kept this hidden from Tails for one good reason. If Tails, knew that something happened to Theresa whilst trying to help her little sister, then she'll blame herself.

 _Lily was on two minds after she called for an ambulance. She wanted to find Theresa, let her know she was there to help, but Tails was unconscious and alone. Theresa must have asked Lily to stay with her little sister whilst she goes gets help. Certain, it was only going to be for a few minutes. Hopefully, Theresa will be back by the time the ambulance arrives to help Tails._

 _But when they came, Theresa was still nowhere to be seen._

 _Lily was on two minds about staying to wait for Theresa or going to the hospital with Tails. If she goes then Theresa will see that Tails is nowhere to be seen and will spend hours trying to frantically search for her, hoping she was safe._

 _But if she stays, then Tails will be alone. With strangers. With no source of contact._

" _Promise me that you'll look after her."_

 _Lily knew at that moment exactly who Theresa was referring to._

"Turns out, Tails was suffering from appendicitis," Lily explained, "But it was the fact that she was in the same position as she was today that still haunts me. That's why I never told anyone. Tails was my main focus when it comes to Theresa, just as I promised."

"I had no idea," Iain whispered.

Then he realised.

Everything went downhill after that one tragic day. Tails was sent to boarding school whilst the search was going on. Lily had been focusing on Tails's well-being. She's been focusing on it a bit too much.

Who was there to help support her following her best friend's disappearance?

Iain was about to ask Lily how she felt about Theresa's disappearance when the door opened slightly to reveal Dylan walking into the staffroom, looking exhausted.

"How is she?" Lily pleaded with him, "Tell me. Please?"

"She's okay," Dylan sighed, "We found traces of carbohaemoglobin in her blood."

"Carbon monoxide poisoning?" Iain asked confused, "That would explain the headaches earlier."

"Yeah," Dylan whispered, "When we got her blood results, we've put her on oxygen therapy. She's looking a bit more like herself again."

"Thank God!" Lily coughed out, she was about to run to hug Dylan, before remembering that she still hasn't changed out of her wet clothes, "Thank you, Doctor Keough!"

"Dr McVay is one of us," Dylan confirmed, "We never turn our backs on one of our own. It's thanks to you she's still alive. Who knows what would have happened to her if you weren't there."

"She's my sister," Lily responded, "I will never turn my back on her."

Iain saw something he never thought was possible, he saw Dylan lips turn into a smile before looking the other way and leaving the room.

"I'll let you two know when Sally is ready for visitors."

Dylan left the room, leaving Iain and Lily alone in the room. He looked at her, before stretching his arms out. She hesitated, remembering that she was still in her wet clothes before realising Iain waited out in the rain with her. With this in mind, Lily ran into Iain's arms, happily taking in the scent of his aftershave.

"Anything I can do for you?" he whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"There is," Lily answered, looking up to him, "Can we get changed please, it's suddenly gotten cold."

"Sure," he chuckled, as they left the room.

* * *

"Cheap alternative?" Tails heard from Sophie over the phone, "Is Cleo okay?"

Tails was appalled when she hear what has happened. She contacted the landlord three weeks ago, regarding the gas exhaust. He told her that he had taken care of it a week ago. By that, he had it sorted with a cheap company who were clearly unqualified. Not only did this action of cheap work but her in danger, but little Cleo had also nearly died because of it as well. Lily was also experiencing headaches as well when she was at hers. It didn't just affect her, Sophie or Cleo but other visitors as well.

Tails knew there and then that her landlord had breached an important part of the contract. It's too dangerous for her, Sophie or Cleo to live in the property.

"Have you got anywhere to stay?" Tails asked over the phone.

"Yeah," she replied, "My friend is letting us stay with her until we find a place. Cleo adores her. More than me."

"I'll remind her to keep you in high regards," Tails chuckled, as she heard a knock on the door, "I hope we can still see each other again."

"We will do," Sophie laughed, "Sorry your date hasn't gone to plan."

Tails was saddened that she couldn't go on her first date with Jez. She had to stay in hospital overnight until she fully recovered. But then what will happen now? Is what happened tonight fate that they shouldn't be together?

Tails got her answered when the door opened, revealing a certain paramedic.

"Sophie he's here," Tails whispered, smiling towards him, "I'll call you later."

Tails could tell just by looking at Jez, he made an effort getting ready for their date. She loves the colour of his black jacket and his maroon jumper. Along with his black jeans. It was clear, she would have been the luckiest girl in the world. The fact that Jez came to the hospital on what should have been their date, answered her question.

No, it wasn't a sign they shouldn't be together. It would lead to a sign saying they should.

"If you hated Marvel, you should have said," Jez joked before remembering that Tails nearly died, "Sorry, that was insensitive."

"It's funny," Tails laughed, "More of a DC girl but I love Marvel. Spider-man is the only Marvel character in my top five superhero characters."

"Whose the first?" Jez asked, "Please don't say Batman."

"No way," Tails laughed, "What's the big deal with him. So he's rich. Oliver Queen is and he started out with zero skills until he trained to be the Green Arrow."

"DC fan," Jez muttered, winking at her, "Another one."

"I'm sorry," Tails whispered, "I just want you to know, I was looking forward to the date."

"It's not you fault," Jez responded, taking her hand in his own, "You were ill. Breathing in that toxic air could have killed you. Do you have anywhere else to stay?"

"Yes."

Jez and Tails didn't noticed the door knocking, they didn't even hear the footsteps, or the door opening up. They were too busy focusing on each other to see her.

"Lily," Tails insisted, "It's okay. I'll try to find somewhere."

"No arguments," Lily walked towards her, taking her free hand in her own, "I don't want you to go back to that place. Not after tonight. Beside I have a spare room, there's no rush and I can tell my landlord that you'll be moving in."

"It's not that I don't want to live with you RB," Tails whispered, "It's just don't want to be a burden."

"You're not a burden," Lily frowned at her, stroking her blonde ponytail, thankful that it is still in place, "You're my sister. I'll always look out for you."

"You sure?" Tails whispered.

"Of course," Lily whispered, pulling her in for a hug, "It'll be brilliant. Just like old times."

"Thank you," Tails cried, looking at Lily and then towards Jez, "Are we okay to go on another date when I get out of here?"

"Yeah," Jez smiled, leaning forward and kissing Tails on the cheek, "I'll try to come up with something better for next time."

"Yay," Tails giggled as she watched Jez leave the room.

* * *

Inviting Tails to move in with her sounds like the best idea Lily has had. It won't just get Tails away from the place that could nearly kill her by it would also give the two of them some company. It would give Tails the opportunity to talk to Lily whenever she thinks about her older sister. Since Theresa disappeared, Lily had to put her own feelings to one side so she can support Tails. Lily knew that whilst Tails had her, Lily had no one.

Since telling Iain about Theresa, she suddenly saw a cloud of light shining above her. Suddenly, she felt as if she could remember Theresa and reflect on her friendship with her, without the aid of photos or a third party. She can look share her grief without fear that she'll upset Tails.

"You sure you don't mind me moving in?" Tails asked her, "It's not that I'm ungrateful."

"I would love for you to move in," Lily smiled, remembering what Tails said, "I finally told Iain."

"What?" Tails asked confused.

"About Theresa," Lily answered, taking her hand in hers, "I told him about her."

"That's good," Tails smiled, "A weights been lifted. You need to confide in someone, it's a good thing he knows."

"He wants to support us both," Lily smiled, glad of Tails's approval, "When things get too much for either of us."

"I can live with that," Tails beamed, showing her white teeth, "Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"I just want to tell you something."

"What's that?"

Tails leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Lily, "You're my sister too."

* * *

 **One source I would strongly recommend is NHS Choices. From my research, when you breathe in Carbon Monoxide, it mixes with haemoglobin, resulting in carboxyhaemoglobin, resulting in Tails's blood not being able to carry oxygen. The most common symptom is headaches which was why Tails never suspected it and put it down to stress.**

 **And now, you know exactly who Theresa is. But had Tails really moved on from her sister? Or is she still clinging to hope that Theresa will return?**

 **What do you think happened to Theresa?**

 **The next two chapters will be fillers.**

 **Please review x**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, I'm back on the filler chapters before going back to the main story. I'm sorry that it took a while to upload but my body clock keeps changing lately. It's something that I WILL be getting used to so nothing and I mean nothing is going to stop me from writing!**

 **So here's the first of the two filler chapters.**

 **Please Review!**

* * *

" _Why, I'm going to kill her!"_

 _Uh-oh! She knew what that meant. Whatever it was that she did, clearly did more harm than she thought._

 _Sally was only six, but she did have a knack for testing Theresa's patience._

 _Her sister might have been mad at her for changing the CD from her CD player from Backstreet Boys to Lolly, her favourite singer. Theresa cannot stand her sisters taste in music, much like Sally can't stand Theresa's._

 _Or was it down to Sally once again taking , Theresa's favourite teddy bear (although their parents have told her she needs to grow out of it). was Theresa's confidant whether Lily wasn't around. Theresa still hasn't forgiven Sally for bringing him to a picnic in front of Alex._

 _Or it could be down to the fact that Sally had done the most famous thing that little siblings are good at. Getting the older siblings into trouble. Definitely not the first time Theresa got blamed for something Tails had done._

 _Sometimes, it was a mystery that Sally is still alive._

" _She's done it this time!" Theresa growled._

" _Done what?" she asked, confused._

 _Theresa marched into her sister's bedroom, clearly ready to let rip into her._

 _Alarmed, Lily knew that if any arguing occurs then both girls would get into trouble. She knew it had to stop._

" _Tee?" she called, "I'm sure Sally didn't mean to do."_

" _It's okay," Theresa giggled, "I got angry over nothing. She didn't do any harm."_

" _Okay," Lily asked, clearly confused but looking at the screen, smiling._

 _Those two are like Theresa and Sally._

 _Looking back, Lily often ask herself about sisters. As an only child, the closest interaction she's seen with two sisters were Theresa and Sally. She often wondered why the two of them are the best of friends one moment, to sworn enemies the next. She often wondered why one would always cover for the other when questioned by their parents. She often wondered why the two of them are so close and yet so different._

 _But one thing Lily doesn't understand..._

 _How can they put up with living together without killing each other?_

Because right now, Lily could easily murder Tails in her sleep.

* * *

There is nothing more Lily enjoys doing before going to sleep than to connect her phone to her speakers and play the Backstreet Boys in her sleep. Her favourite song is "As long as you love me.". She knew how that song goes off by heart from the lyrics to the background music.

So Lily did find it strange to hear a creaking sound in the background, muffled footsteps and munching noises in the background. Initially, Lily thought she was hearing things in her dreams as Iain was still sleeping soundly beside her. She snuck out of her bed, opened her door slightly and peek at her new flatmate throwing an empty popcorn bag into the bin.

Lily groaned after catching Tails in the act, especially since that bin was only just emptied before she went to bed. It also explained the biscuit packet from the night before or the tub of ice-cream the night before that. Not only is it annoying and messy but it's making Lily feel jealous of Tails's perfect figure, clearly she was naturally straight without the effort.

Oh well, surely she can't be that annoying during the day.

* * *

Four hours.

That's the most sleep that Tails has had in one night since she moved in with Lily. Even though she is grateful that Lily had let her move in, Tails is slowly starting to wish she stopped at the B&B or at tops, her old flat. In fact, Tails is surprised that Lily's night time habits never bothered Iain. Maybe he was used to hearing that rubbish boy band in the background but Tails had escaped from hearing it for over a decade, she wasn't going to go back there.

She wouldn't have minded if it was the slow music like "I'll never break your heart" but it was also fast paced songs such as "The call" and "Larger than Life". How can anyone sleep with that in the background?

What annoyed her the most wasn't just the night time music. It was also the fact that now, these songs were getting stuck in Tails's head.

She can't stay living with Lily, she doesn't want to kill her.

"Morning," Iain chirped as he kept his eyes on the eggs in the frying pan, "Slept well?"

"Not really," he turned in surprised, that voice sounded a lot like Tails.

"Oh God," Iain's eyes widened in horror, he's forgotten Tails was living there now, "I'm so sorry. I've would have made you some."

"It's fine," Tails laughed, "I made some pancakes for breakfast last night."

Iain sighed in relief. There are moments where Iain forgets that between the two people living here that it's Tails who is the most organised one. Normally when Lily wakes up, it's normally a bowl of cereal or toast or waking up super early to make breakfast. But Tails is different, when she cooks, she makes dinner, as well as breakfast for the next morning, even lunch for work.

Iain placed his eyes back onto the eggs as he heard the fridge door opening.

"Where's the plastic tub of chocolates?"

Three nights ago, Tails broke apart a chocolate bar, placing the six squares in the plastic container. The plan was to eat one each day. To her horror, the container on the top shelf is missing and she was going to use that with her pancakes.

"Morning!"

Iain and Tails turned to see Lily emerging to the kitchen, rubbing her eyes to remove the sleep out of them. She smiled when she saw what Iain had done, letting her sleep which allowed him to make her breakfast. It was moments like this that made Lily feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

"Sleep well?" Iain asked her.

That was a difficult question. Lily hadn't been sleeping well lately, not after seeing the rubbish in the bins from the first night that Tails was discharged from hospital. Lily often heard sounds of munching in the background, muffled from the walls. It was clear who the culprit was. Her name is Sally McVay.

"Yeah," she lied, "Best night I had."

One thing she couldn't do. Lily couldn't let Tails know she was struggling lately. It would make Tails feel as if she was a burden and she would move out as a result. Lily was scared of that, what if Tails chose to stay at a B&B? She'd be lonely. What if she lived out on the streets? Who knows what could happen to her, a beautiful lady, she'd be in danger. What if she went back to her old flat? The toxic air could put her back in the hospital again or worse, she could die.

Lily doesn't know why, but she doesn't want Tails to move out.

"Lily," Tails approached her, "Have you seen my chocolate chunks?"

Lily took one confused look. She knew Tails broke that chocolate bar and placed them in the plastic container. She knew what chocolates were contained in the container. And she knew what will happen if anyone eats those chocolates.

"It was me," she explained walking towards her, "I'm so sorry. I felt hungry and tired and I was craving something sweet."

Iain watched in horror. Tails had that demonic look in her eye. He knew what it meant. But he's been seeing it a lot lately. Not just from Tails but from Lily as well. It seems that since their living arrangements, both girls seem a bit distance with each other. Clearly, neither of them realised it was going to be easy living with each other. They didn't set ground rules. And right now, they don't want to say anything to each other.

"It's fine," Iain saw that was forced, "I should have put a note on it."

Iain was relieved that was clear but he was terrified. If this carry on like this, it'll only be a matter of time before a volcano erupts and World War 3 breaks out.

Luckily all three of them were on a day off.

Surely, it can't be that bad.

* * *

Lily thoroughly enjoyed reading. She found it heart breaking that a young girl with high dreams died before she could accomplish those dreams. It seemed that whilst she was living in the Annexe, Sophie was getting used to everyone she was hiding with. It was as if she had Stockholme Syndrome, feeling as if her romance with Roger was forced. There were moments where Sophie felt safe but also moments where she felt trapped as well.

When Lily first saw Tails reading that book, she saw her eyes were red. At first, Lily assumed it was about Theresa but when Tails told her about the diary, Lily started to understand. This wasn't just a story, it was real life.

Setting the book aside, Lily went back into Tails's room and found an empty space on her bookshelf. It must be the spot that Tails dug the book out for Lily to read.

Smiling to herself, she sat back onto the sofa. Settling down beside Iain, who was busy reading his request letter to visit Gem. She rested her head on his chest, as she felt his arms wrap around her waist, his lips touching her hair.

The oven pinged, allowing Tails to jump up from the armchair and walk over to her homemade pizza, taking it out of the oven. This was brilliant. The first time in a while she has cooked for somebody else and it was her favourite dish. Tails knew her sauce consisting of tomato puree, mixed herbs and garlic granules was deemed to be a favourite for the kids of the Mahogany Street. A recipe that they came up with all those years ago.

The pizza was ready, cut up into six slices. Two for each person in the house, proud of herself, she left the pizza to cool down for a minute.

She walked into her bedroom to grab her Panda speakers and her phone when something clearly caught her eye.

Her bookshelf had six shelves, the top two consisting of books. On the top shelf, there were stories surrounding mystery, romance and even horror and action. She often done a book swap with old friends from uni and even did a book swap with Alicia two weeks ago. Below that were her books relating to health and medical procedures. Tails always enjoy learning about advances in health care and she took pride in her shelf. Not a book is out of place.

Until she saw that book Lily had borrowed and returned.

In the shelf where the science books are.

Lily is starting to test Tails's patience now.

* * *

"You alright?" Iain asked Lily as she settled back on the sofa with two wine glasses, "You've seem a bit distance."

"I'm sorry," Lily whispered, "I guess I'm struggling at the moment."

"When Gem moved in with me it was a nightmare," he chuckled, "At least you didn't have to put up with contain notices telling Tails she has a message."

"I don't want to tell her I'm struggling," Lily whispered, "I love her to bits and she's the closest thing I have to a sister but I could just kill her."

Iain sighed. He could tell by looking at Tails that the feeling is clearly mutual. The way she held her head up in the morning clearly told him that he needed to get her some ear plugs for Lily's music so she could sleep better. The way Tails is struggling to deal with her cravings clearly...well he was surprised Lily lied for him. He was more afraid of what Tails will do to him if she ever does find out who really ate that chocolate.

"I'll put on some Netflix," Lily decided, grabbing onto the remote, "That should cheer me up."

Netflix was always Lily's cup of tea when she's stressed. When she first hooked it onto her device, she set a password so complex that she would forget about it in the next fifteen minutes. She's been catching up on Thirteen Reasons Why and found that it was Tails's favourite programme as well.

She turned on the app and to her horror found one thing.

 _Email Address._

 _Password._

TAILS!

She's only gone and logged her off to use her own account!

Iain knew fully well that Lily was annoyed. But it was clear, she didn't want to show it.

"I didn't want to watch it anyway," Lily sighed, "It was getting boring anyway."

Now Iain knew it. Lily and Tails were slowly ruining each other's lives. But it was clear they didn't want to show their distaste for the other person's living habits from Tails's need to log off everything to Lily's shocking disorganisation skills and how they were affecting their lives.

There's only one thing he can do, but the girls may kill him.

Especially when they don't want him having a look inside of it.

* * *

Things were starting to get quiet in the flat, with Lily trying desperately to get her password changed and Tails snapping pieces of chocolate into the plastic container. Both wondered why the other wasn't talking. Both wondering if they've upset the other. Both wondering where Iain went off to.

 _Thump!_

Lily and Tails looked at each other, confusion doesn't seem to put it gently. They were always told to never follow sudden sounds but this one was in their home. Lily smiled at the thought of what she called the flat. Their home. Her and Tails's. Lily had slowly begun to think about it now.

Yes, Tails is a midnight muncher. Yes, Tails is an example to always write key passwords down. Yes, Tails can be a pain in the neck. But in the end, Tails isn't just her friend, she's her sister.

It was at that moment Lily now knew why Theresa and Tails never killed each other.

Although they irritated each other, they always enjoyed the others company and always had each others back. From the good times to the scary times.

The two flatmates looked nervously at each other, clearly terrified of what they were about to go into. Lily held her hand out for Tails, who took a big gulp before taking her friend's hand. Staring at the door, Lily's left hand reached for the handle and pressed it down, pushing the door to one side.

And finding Iain with one of the photo albums in Lily's bedroom.

"Put that down!" Lily shouted, taking her hand away from Tails's, "I told you to never look in them!"

"Good job I haven't," Iain smirked, looking at the two of them, "Yet."

"Iain," Tails commented, "You're acting strange, should I call the nursing home?"

"I'm acting strange?" he asked her in mock horror, "You two used to be as thick as thieves."

"We still are," Lily stated.

"Not from where I'm standing," Iain countered at her, "Ever since Tails moved in, you two have been getting distant with each other. I understand you don't want to upset each other, but the atmosphere in here is unbearable and I don't even live here."

They hated to admit, Iain has a point. Before Tails moved in, they often told each other when they were feeling sad, angry or confused. They were the therapists that their friends had often joked they needed. It was at that moment Lily realised, even though Tails has been irritating lately, it seemed that Lily isn't the perfect flatmate. It does hurt that Tails had kept quiet about these issues instead or just telling her.

Tails was down and will admit Lily's offended her. It brought her down that Lily didn't tell her how she was feeling with her. Then she's realised, she did the exact same thing. Instead of telling Lily, Tails kept quiet about the problems she's been having with Lily, hurting her even more by keeping quiet about them.

"Okay," Lily whispered, "I'm sorry Iain. It couldn't have been comfortable for you to witness this," sighing she took her eyes away from Iain and onto Tails, "I don't regret asking you to move in, it's nice having you here, but I'm sorry, I can't stand your midnight snacking. The munches you make at night drives me up the wall."

"I'm surprised you could hear those sound," Tails sighed, settling herself down on the bed, "I can hear your music in the background at night. I wouldn't mind but I cannot stand the Backstreet Boys."

"Oh God," Lily gasped, placing her hands on her face, "I forgot, you always changed the CD in the player."

The girls just looked at each other and burst out laughing. Okay so maybe Lily is a bit disorganised, maybe Tails is a midnight muncher, maybe the girls don't have much in common.

But they don't have to be the best of flatmates to be the best of friends.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Tails asked, "That's what I want to know."

"You're my sister," Lily whispered, sitting down next to her, "I was scared if I told you, you would feel like a burden and will want to move out. I was worried I would lose you. I didn't want to cause a fight."

Lily was startled when she heard a snort. Tails couldn't contain herself.

"I'm sorry," Tails laughed, before composing herself, "I appreciate it. But you've forgotten one thing."

"What's that?" Lily asked her confused.

"Sister may be close," Tails smiled at her, taking her hand, "But sisters also fight. It's what we do best."

Suddenly, Lily then remembered it. Tails always fought with Theresa, but it was always over the silliest of things.

Including the time Theresa thought Tails went on her saved game on Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and lost all of her lives, but it turned out, she actually gotten Theresa five chaos emeralds, something that Theresa had spent weeks struggling on.

" _How did you do that?" Theresa asked her, shocked, "I couldn't have done that!"_

" _I move Sonic really fast," Sally replied, "Tails picked up anything that Sonic missed."_

" _Just like you," Lily laughed, sitting down next to her, "Always picking up the things that we missed. I think we have our own Tails."_

"I forgot," Lily laughed, "That was your favourite thing to do."

"I'll try to keep my snacking to a minimum," Tails vowed.

"At least let me join you," Lily laughed, pulling her in for a hug, "If you can't beat them."

Iain smiled at the two. The air suddenly became positive again. That distance he felt between point Lily to point Tails went short, in fact, it was hardly there anymore.

"Thank you Iain," Lily smiled, "I can't believe you resorted to this."

"I had to do something," He chuckled, "I knew you wouldn't let me look in this photo album."

"Hang on!" Tails pointed out, "Did you just pick a random one out?"

"Yeah," Iain answered her, "Why?"

"You were lucky," Tails laughed, turning to Lily, "Of all the photo albums he could have chosen, he chose the only one that had nothing in it!"

Alarmed, Iain opened the album and found to his shock, that Tails was right.

Now that's what he calls an empty threat.

* * *

 **I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. I am sorry it took so long but there are moments where I will be in need of changing my body clock as my shift patterns often change. There are some days where I am doing day shifts but I'm also working nights as well so that's the main reason for these delays but I will be getting used to them.**

 **I would also like to point out that I do not hate the Backstreet Boys, I actually enjoy their music but I needed a band to cause arguments between Lily and Tails and they were the first band that came into my head.**

 **Anyway please review x**


	9. Chapter 9

**Again, I apologise for the long wait. I've been keeping myself busy with work and coming up with new ideas for stories, both Casualty and Lily related as well as original ideas. Now that I know what I like writing about, I feel more confident with my writing skills and feel as if time is the key.**

 **This chapter is one that I knew I had to write about and it was another filler chapter.**

 **Please enjoy.**

* * *

 _The heat wave was nearly unbearable for Lily to take. The sun had multiplied itself in two and had clearly sent it's clone down to the water. It was surprising that the sand wasn't on fire, Lily could swear blind that she could see glowing orange in the sand. She stood by the wall, was she at the seaside or standing on a volcano?_

 _It was Donna's birthday tomorrow and for the first time Lily brought Iain to her hometown in Salesford. Iain was slightly nervous for tomorrow. Put him in a situation where life and death are the only options available and he will rise above it. Put him in a social situation then he's a completely different person. Lily blamed Jez for this. Apparently if the family hates you, then you're a bad boy. If the friends hate you then you'd worry._

 _"Would you relax?" Lily asked him, turning so she is facing him, "They'll love you. They've been looking forward to meeting you."_

 _"I'm sorry," Iain sighed, "I'm just nervous."_

 _"That doesn't sound like you," Lily laughed, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Or the guy I told my friend Tails about."_

 _"And what did you tell her about me?" Iain asked, curious of what Lily's been telling her friend about._

 _"That's you're big-headed, annoying, full of yourself," Lily giggled, "And how much you make me happy."_

 _"And what did she say?" Iain pondered about that, pleased._

 _"Out of all my relationships, you seem to be the most interesting one yet."_

* * *

Tails walked back into the flat after taking the bins out. It was decided after the pair discussed their problems that the rubbish should be taken out at the start of the day and not the last thing to do following their little midnight feast the night before. Placing the mail into two separate piles, her eye caught a note left on the counter.

Don't take the cereal out of the cupboard. I'm off to buy some milk.

Love RB x

Tails smiled, knowing that Lily knew she would be wanting some cereal. Since Iain brought in some Honey Monster Puffs, it seemed to become breakfast, lunch and dinner for Lily and Tails. Their parents always forbidden them from eating them as children. Looking back, she understood why.

She thought about Iain as well. Tails spent time with Iain before, but it was always when someone else was with them. Whether it was Lily, Jez or someone else, she and Iain never really sat down to talk to each other. Tails doesn't even know what Iain does for fun, unless she was hearing it through the wall. Making a promise to herself, Tails decided that the first chance she gets, she's going to properly get to go Iain.

* * *

 _Iain was getting nervous now. After tickling Lily's ribs, he lost his balance, bringing him and Lily into the sea. They were only intending on going in for a paddle but now their clothes are not only wet but stained in with salt. He felt guilty. That was Lily's favourite dress and because he was trying hard not to fall, he ended up taking her down with him._

 _He expected the splash to his face. But he wasn't expecting giggling._

 _"You're not still nervous, are you?" Lily smiled at him, "At least I can breathe now."_

 _"Shut up!" he sniggered, pressing his lips to hers, "Yuck! Salt!"_

 _He stood up on his feet, holding how's hand out for Lily to take, allowing her to stand up. Lily nearly lost her balance again, but Iain quickly caught her in his arms, before she fall back into the sea. The two gazed at each other's eyes before quickly walking away from the water and putting their shoes back on. The only thing that protect their feet from the fiery sand._

 _"Should we head back to my mother's?" Lily suggested._

 _"We just fell into the sea and our clothes are wet," Iain remarked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "Please."_

 _Lily giggled as they walked back to her street, only thirty minutes away. With the hot weather, they felt slightly cool but their damp clothes continued to get uncomfortable and the scent of salt is slowly making the two feel a little sick. Lily was happy to be back in Salesford and it was lovely that her mother had let them stay at hers overnight, even though she's taking Aunt Sandy to Blackpool for a weekend away following her divorce. It felt strange to know that Uncle Freddie isn't living on the street anymore as he moved to London, but Lily felt relieved. He always was domineering._

 _Lily and Iain listened to the sounds as they walked. The shuffling of the grass as children run past. The gentle whistling singing with the wind. The silent giggles running from left to right. And the occasional engine passing through as a navy KA with a dent on the front drove past._

* * *

Buzz!

The moment she heard the buzzer, Tails knew straight away who it was. Iain and Lily were both doing a morning shift tomorrow, so they intended on spending the day off they had together. She smiled knowing that with her and Lily living together, there was a possibility that she and Iain could spend some time together which meant that they could use that time to get to know each other.

Tails walked over to the intercom and picked up the phone.

"Come in," she called, buzzing Iain into the building.

The moment she heard Iain's footsteps, she knew he cheated and caught the lift. One of these days, someone was going to say that they couldn't be bothered and end up stuck in the lift. Tails would laugh at the poor individual, praying it won't be her.

"You're going to get stuck in that lift one of these days," Tails warned Iain as she opened the door to let him in.

"Shut up!" Iain mocked her, "No sign of Lily?"

"That little addiction you introduced us to used up our milk," Tails muttered, rolling her blue eyes, "She's gone to buy some more. So, I'm afraid I can't offer you a brew."

"Well once to go try that cereal there's no going back," Iain chuckled, "So I brought it on myself."

"Well Lily won't be long," Tails smiled walking over to the DVD rack, "Do you want to watch a box set until she gets here?"

It soon dawned on Iain. This is the first time he has ever spent time with Tails. Okay that was over the top as he did spend time with her before, but it was only when other people were around. Now it was just him and her and it suddenly dawned on him about how much he knows about Tails. Nothing.

And he met her by chance.

* * *

 _Iain regretted offering to go to the shops to get some wine for the party tomorrow. He knew Lily would be secretly mocking him. Lily offered to go get the wine instead, but no. He insisted on going himself, declining Lily's offer for directions._

 _What was he thinking?_

 _"You alright mate?" he turned around to see a blonde girl in her early to mid twenties._

 _Her honey blonde hair was tied up to the side and her silver rimmed glasses shape her face perfectly. Her pink and black checked shirt covered her white t-shirt, reaching to the knees of her black leggings. Finished with a pair of red converse. She had her phone in her hand, clearly, she stopped her call to give him directions._

 _"I'm fine," Iain lied, too embarrassed to tell her he got lost._

 _"Really?" she queried, "You look lost. I hardly seen you around so either you're here visiting or you're new to the area."_

 _"Fine!" Iain admitted, "I got lost. I'm trying to find my way to the corner shops."_

 _"You're in the right place," she answered pointing to a building that said, 'Kingsley Corner', "That's the place."_

 _"Okay thank you," Iain smiled, walking away._

 _"No problem," she smiled, "Don't worry, I won't tell Lily you got lost."_

 _Iain watched as he saw the girl walk off towards a navy KA. He smiled to himself. Lily told him the locals were friendly but each one is unique. Including that driver of the-wait a moment!_

 _How does she know who he is?_

* * *

"Okay, I'll let you decide," Tails announced, "The box sets are in the rack. Stupid! You already knew that!"

As Iain watched Tails use her espresso machine to make a latte and dig out the popcorn, he took a quick browse through the box set the girls have. He smiled after seeing Lily's 'Criminal Minds' and 'CSI', knowing she loves a good mystery. He even smiled, knowing he finally converted his girlfriend into Batman after seeing so many of the Batman series.

But he was horrified to see TOWIE box sets. Iain always saw that show as complete garbage and couldn't understand why anyone would want to watch that! He frowned, this wasn't there before. Lily always said she hated the show and cannot stand it. It soon dawned on Iain who the fan was.

Suddenly all respect for Tails went out of the window.

"You okay?" Tails asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I can't believe you watch this rubbish," Iain muttered to her, "Absolute garbage."

"Hey, there is nothing wrong with it," Tails remarked, "Absolute legend. Can't believe you! I thought you were a fan!"

Iain and Tails suddenly looked at each other alarmed. They clearly don't know much about each other.

And they have half an hour alone until Lily gets back.

* * *

 _"Sorry it took so long," Iain apologised, entering the house, "There was a car and-"_

 _"You got lost, didn't you?" Lily enquired from the kitchen, alarming Iain._

 _"I didn't!" he insisted._

 _"I heard you over the phone!" Lily exclaimed walking towards him, "You got lost, tried to cover it up to a complete stranger before admitting it."_

 _Iain couldn't believe what he was hearing. Okay, what Lily suggested DID happen, but she wasn't meant to find out._

 _So, how did she?_

 _"Over the phone?" Iain asked, "So you know the girl who gave me directions."_

 _"She sure does."_

 _Iain took five seconds before recognising that voice. About twenty minutes ago, that same voice gave him directions to the shops. That same voice told him he looked lost. That same voice also told him she wasn't going to tell Lily. Only he didn't know she knew Lily._

 _Salesford is a small town._

 _He turned around to see the girl with the pink and black checked shirt and the white tee to her knees, covered by her black leggings and her feet covered by the red converses. Her honey blonde hair was swept to one side in the ponytail and her silver rimmed glasses pretty much made her eyes look smaller than they're actually are._

 _"You must be the paramedic RB won't shut up-"_

 _Iain was alarmed when Lily rushed over to the girl and placed her hand over her mouth. Clearly that girl does not know how to keep a secret._

 _"You promised you wouldn't say anything," Lily growled before feeling something on her hand, "And did you really think licking my hand was going to work on me? Please remember who it was that taught you that!"_

 _Iain couldn't stop laughing. He could hardly picture Lily teaching anyone the hand licking trick, but then again, someone had to teach someone that trick and Lily doesn't have any brothers or sisters so someone else needed to learn the role from her._

 _"Sorry about this," Lily apologises, removing her palm from her friend's mouth, "Iain, this is Tails. The one I would like you to avoid."_

 _"Nice to meet you Iain," Tails smiled at him before glaring to Lily, "What that supposed to mean?"_

 _"You can't keep secrets," Lily exclaimed to her, "Within five seconds, you blurted out to Iain my nickname!"_

 _"So he doesn't know that you used to take part in-"_

 _Iain laughed as Lily once again gagged Tails with her palm. He couldn't help it, these two fought worse than he does with Gem, and they're not even sisters._

 _But they sure act like sisters._

 _Iain is slowly starting to feel comfortable after all._

 _Knock!_

 _"Word travels fast," Lily giggled as she walked over to the door to greet the next visitor._

* * *

Silence filled the flat and neither Iain nor Tails can see anything positive, and this is Tails's home. The television is off, the radio is off, and the lights are off. Iain was just staring at the blank screen, not wanting to say anything with the small chance that Tails might not like what he's saying. He's already insulted her taste in television shows since he discovered her love of TOWIE. Those DVD box sets should never even exist.

He turned to look at Tails who was silently looking out the window. Since she's moved in with Lily, Iain has discovered that Tails has been doing a lot of stargazing and cloud watching. It was almost as if something draws her to her daily hobby. Iain suddenly wonders if Tails is often fascinated by space. Another thing they don't have in common, he cannot understand the meaning of stargazing.

It seems that the only thing in common is that they have a bond with Lily, otherwise, they'd be out of each other's lives personally.

"Hi," Lily smiled as she entered the room, "Is everything okay? There's something wrong."

"No there isn't," Iain panicked, looking at Tails who also shook her head.

"Why is the television not on then?" Lily noticed, pointing to the screen, "I thought you two would be watching your favourite show."

Iain snorted at Lily's comment, there's no way he would watch her garbage. He then watched Tails mouthing to Lily as if he could see confusion creeping on her face.

Lily suddenly panicked, she knew that Iain and Tails had something in common. She told Tails one thing about Iain and her response.

 _"You lose him, you're dead to me!"_

No one can understand Tails's craze for the franchise, Tails doesn't understand it herself. She couldn't help herself. Every time there's a convention, she's always the one who books the tickets, buy the costumes and even drags the whole group along. That was why they always hid any announcements of fan conventions so that Tails didn't drag them along, but it doesn't work.

Luckily, there's always a plan.

Buzz!

The trio all looked towards the door, all looking relieved that the cloud has disappeared. Tails moved away from the window and walked over to the door.

"Hello?" she called through the intercom.

"Package for Miss Sally McVay?" answered the man.

"Alright!" she screamed out, suddenly feeling happy, "It's here!"

Iain and Lily looked at each other with confusion as Tails ran through the door and out of the flat. Sometimes they wonder about the sanity of their friends and Tails was definitely one of them.

"What's here?" Iain asked Lily.

"Tails ordered a games console," Lily smiled, "When we were kids we loved the Spyro trilogy and it's now coming out again. She even bought a couple of dance mats."

It dawned on Lily, Tails isn't going to manage to carry her parcels. Not on her own at least, she'll need help. This could give Iain and Tails a moment to bond.

"She isn't going to manage to carry them on her own," Lily whispered to Iain, "Would you mind helping her please?"

Iain sighed, five minutes with an awkward silence isn't what he wanted but how could he say no? Not to Lily. Never to Lily.

* * *

 _"Here we are," Tails smiled as the trio arrived at Hemsworth Manor, "This is where Donna's party is held."_

 _Iain never felt more terrified of a building than what he did feel when they approached it. No one knows how old it really is, but the vines seemed to be growing through the stained-glass windows and the trees looked as if they were in mourning. There was a broken part of the fence to the side and the path way felt as bumpy as a rocky hill. How did Lily's friend Alex manage to book this place? And why it is still open?_

 _"Murder mystery?" Lily asked from the back of the car, "Alex is full of imagination! Remember the Christmas party for yours?"_

 _"Which one?" Tails giggled, "I wished he had some imagination."_

 _"Murder mystery?" Iain asked, "Christmas party?"_

 _"Donna's a police officer," Tails explained to Iain, "She has a knack for getting to the bottom of cases. She's hoping to be a private detective one day."_

 _"Makes sense," Iain chuckled, "Why Christmas for you?"_

 _"So, my birthday is December the first," Tails laughed, "Alex hates listening to Christmas music before December, I keep telling him it isn't bad luck!"_

 _This seemed to be bad luck to Iain. He was so worried that Lily's friends will think he's a coward and not good enough for Lily. Taking a deep breath, he was determined for he survived worse before._

 _He watched as Tails opened the crooked gate, holding it for them to enter. Iain was shocked when Lily walked through confidently and without hesitation, she's usually the one who was quite nervous for this._

 _"You're coming?" Lily called for Iain, "The outside is only for show."_

 _"Yeah," Tails smiled, "Or are your legs too brittle for your old age?"_

 _Iain's eyes widened. He was scared that Lily's friends will hate him, but now, he's scared that there are more than one Jez Andrews._

 _"Lily," Iain gulped as Tails walked ahead, "Please tell me Jez came to Salesford, kidnapped Tails and then threw her in a personality pool, turning her into a clone?"_

 _"She likes you, she never mocks my boyfriends," Lily giggled, "I'm happy she didn't direct any old age jokes at me."_

 _"You miss the nursing home Grandma?" Tails called from afar._

 _Lily sighed, realising she spoke too soon, "Fun while it lasted."_

* * *

Iain walked out of the flat to see Tails at the bottom, he figured it'll be easier to catch the lift, as he found that it's a bit quicker. You just step in, few seconds later, you're out again. It was the fastest lift he's ever been in.

The doors opened at the bottom, just as Tails took the boxes from the blonde delivery man.

"You're not going to manage!" Iain called out, after he noticed Tails is struggling to even see past the boxes, "Pass me one!"

"Could you grab the top one please?" she asked, "I would love to see again!"

Iain chucked at Tails's statement, taking the lighter of the two in his arms. He suddenly remembered what happened at the party.

"This isn't because my bones are brittle?" he asked offended.

"Well you're not the strongest," Tails giggled, "I remember the match!"

 _"Ouch!"_

 _Alex raised his arms up in victory, thrilled that his record is still unbreakable. Lily bowed her head down in shame, even though she warned Iain not to take Alex's challenge, she did want Iain to win, just to rub the smirk of Alex's face._

 _"So much for video gold," Danny sighed placing his camera down, "I was hoping he would lose."_

 _"Hey," Tails piped in, "Iain was stronger than the rest of Alex's opponents combined, he lasted the longest. Not bad for an old man!"_

 _"Didn't Aunt Sandy ever tell you to respect the elderly?" Lily queried._

 _"My mum did," Tails admitted, "But since you got no brothers or sisters, Aunt Li-Na allowed me to mock you all I want."_

 _Lily frowned as everyone, including Iain laughed at the comment. Iain looked at Tails and saw it, that one look in her eyes. He saw it in Gem all the time. A look of pure evil that says on simple thing._

 _'I'm the reason your life is a nightmare!'_

 _After all the torture he endured thanks to Gem, Lily has his full sympathy. The younger child was often corrupted by the actions of the older siblings, making them a permanent punishment that they'll have to suffer from the day they were born to the day someone dies._

 _"That does it!" Lily yelled at her, throwing her jacket on the floor, "Bring it! You and me, twister!"_

 _"Okay," Tails smiled like an innocent little girl, batting her eyelashes that can fool anyone._

 _After a shock thirty seconds, Iain was shock when Lily landed on the floor with a soft whump! Normally, thuds are supposed to be as loud as a clash and as painful as a prick on the finger. The person who fell would also take a minute to stand back up but Lily, she got up within five seconds flat._

 _There was only one-way Lily would have a soft landing…_

 _"Tell me you didn't," Iain muttered as everyone else started setting up._

 _"Didn't what?" Lily asked innocently._

 _"The person who normally falls takes a minute to stand up," he piped, folding his arms and looking at Tails, "Took you five seconds."_

 _"Oh," Luke muttered to Iain, "Lily has a soft spot for Tails, she let her win!"_

 _"I did not!" Lily shouted._

 _"You let her win at everything," Luke snorted, raising Iain's eyes, "Who lost at air hockey because she moved her hand away when the puck reached her goal?"_

 _"My hand slipped," Lily scratched her nose._

 _"Five times?"_

 _"Four times!" Lily corrected him, "I was too slow on goal number three."_

 _Iain knew right then, he never let Gem win, ever. These two girls are super close._

 _Looks like Tails is the one that Iain desperately has to impress._

* * *

"There is no way you can carry that parcel up the stairs," Iain pointed out whilst Tails struggled to keep her hold, "You can set them down in the lift. We'll be up in a few seconds."

Tails snorted at Iain's comment, the last time she went up the lift, she started to notice it was going as slow as snail. It had a temperamental side and Tails knew it could break down at any second.

"I prefer not to take my chances," she muttered.

"It's a lot better than going up the stairs," Iain insisted, "What's the worst that could happen?"

Tails groaned to herself, there is no way she is going to get of this, is there?

"It breaks down, you're dead!" she muttered.

"It's not going to break down," Iain muttered shaking his head, "Coward."

"It's not cowardly!"

* * *

 _Iain look a brief glance of his challenge. He knew Tails was fond of him and likes to tease him, meaning that he likes him according to Lily. Still nervous as he watches her laughing with Danny and Donna, he felt Lily squeezing his hand._

 _"Okay," Alex announced, torch in hand, "Murder mystery. Who can we trust the most?"_

 _"Anyone but the killer," Donna muttered, resulting in Alex frowning as everyone snorted with laughter, "Well it's true, last year Danny wiped out two people in one go!"_

 _"Not my fault Lily ran in the room," Danny laughed, "Easy pickings!"_

 _"New rule," Alex announced, "The killer can only kill one at a time! And this time, we'll be playing as ourselves."_

 _Tails was alarmed. This gave Iain an unfair disadvantage as he only knows Lily. She shook her head at Alex, he clearly didn't think it through._

 _"Alex," Tails giggled, "That's sounds like fun but you've forgotten something."_

 _"And what's that?" he questioned her, frowning as she moved next to Iain._

 _"This is the first time Iain has met us," Tails pointed out, "He isn't going to remember a few minutes of information with his old age."_

 _Now Tails really reminds Iain of Jez. She's definitely a female version._

 _"What if he pairs up with Lily?" Tails suggested, "They play as one player?"_

 _"Sounds good," Lily beamed._

 _"Okay," Alex decided, taking one 'Safe' slip out of the hat, "Everyone pick a slip."_

 _Iain watched as Lily walked to him as the two open up the slip. They saw that they were not the killers, meaning one of the other five is the killer. Iain eyed each of them individually and groaned, one of them must be very good at acting, as they all look innocent._

 _"Okay the rules," Alex stated, "You in the room with the killer and they turn out the lights, you're dead. If you work out who the killer is, head down in the dining room where all the corpses are and knock three times. The killer has to lay clues or try to make it look as if someone else is responsible. All victims has to sit by the wall. If five or six people are by the wall, the killer wins."_

* * *

Iain and Tails waited in uncomfortable silence. The paramedic has to admit, Tails wasn't wrong when she said the lift was a bit slower, but it was still going up...

...until a few seconds it stopped moving.

"Oh that's just great!" Tails muttered, pressing the emergency buzzer, alerting a voice from the other side.

"Everyone okay?" a female voice called from the outside.

"The lifts broke down!" Tails answered, "I haven't got my phone. It's still in the flat!"

"I'll contact Graham," the neighbour called out, "Anyone else you want to contact?"

"Lily," Tails called, "She's going to wonder where we are!"

* * *

 _Lily and Iain quickly ran into the upper lounge of the Manor to find Danny slowly getting up. It soon dawned on them that not only was he not the killer, he was also a victim and out of the game._

 _"They got you first?" Lily asked him._

 _"Definitely not Tails," Danny muttered, "She likes to mess with me."_

 _Iain realised that Danny is closest to Tails as well which was understandable, considering they were the ones closest to age._

 _"Good luck you two," Danny says with a smile, "My brother is definitely not going to let me live this down."_

 _Iain and Lily watched as Danny walked away over to the main area two rooms away._

 _"Ah man!" they heard him call, "They did get me first!"_

 _Lily and Iain waited before they left to find more clues over the whereabouts of Danny's murder, both clearly missing the footsteps approaching them._

 _"Tails is clearly not the culprit," Lily announced to Iain, "Danny's her best friend. She wouldn't go for him straight away."_

 _"So it's not you two then?" Iain and Lily turned around and spotted Tails standing behind them, "Its clear who it is."_

 _"Really?" Lily queried with her, "Who?"_

 _"Okay, Danny might have shown Alex's girlfriend Holly his home video," Tails smiled._

 _"Tell me he didn't," Lily sighed, "Not that one!"_

 _"Yep," Tails laughed, "The video of him showing off at your twenty-first birthday party."_

 _"How bad was it?" Iain asked wondering what Lily's birthday theme normally is._

 _"He tried to recreate her famous Spiral," Tails smiled noticing Lily's look of horror, "Oh come on! He has to know about your figure skating past sooner or later!"_

 _Lily frowned at Tails as she walks off._

 _"Figure skating?" Iain commented, "I didn't know that."_

 _"You never asked," Lily sighed, "I retired when I was sixteen."_

* * *

Five minutes later, Iain and Tails settled on the floor. The only thing they can hear is the slow breathing of the other. All they have for company was each other and a couple of parcels and the only thing they can see is the wooden walls.

"'It'll be easier in the lift,' he says," Tails muttered, "'It'll only be a few seconds,' he says. 'What could possibly go wrong?' he says."

"Excuse me?" Iain frowned turning towards her, "No one forced you to go up here! I can see why you like those loonies from Essex."

Tails was alarmed with this statement. What gave Iain the impression that she liked TOWIE? She hates the show and sees all the people on it as hungry for fame. It's her least favourite thing to watch.

"What gives you that impression?" Tails asked him, "Lily only took those box sets out to hide the fact that she likes watching it!"

"So that's what she refuses to tell me!" Iain choked out, "Wait a minute. What did you actually think I was referring to?"

"My Heroes Collection," Tails cowered away, "My Arrow, Flash, the Batman animated series."

Iain couldn't believe what he was hearing! He completely got this girl all wrong, she has good taste in TV shows, good taste in video games, maybe she had a poor taste in who to listen to; okay maybe this one time he should have thought it through but those boxes were heavy.

* * *

 _Iain and Lily were down to three potential suspects. Alex, Donna and Tails. They knew Tails wouldn't have done it since Danny was the first person murdered._

 _Iain turned around and saw that Alex was in the sane room as them._

 _"Lily," he nudged her, "Alex is here."_

 _"Break for it!"_

 _Lily and Iain ran out of the room, only to hear the lights from the room behind them flicker off and then on again. They both froze on the spot. They heard someone coming in as they were getting out. They walked back into the room and saw Alex getting up from where he's been._

 _"Damn it," Alex muttered, "She got me good! Always the sneaky one that girl is. But should you two be back here when she just struck?"_

 _Iain and Lily groaned when they realised Alex wasn't the killer. It meant they were back to square one again._

 _Well they got two suspects and they know definitely who is responsible._

* * *

"Batman?" Iain queried, "I'd have you more of a Marvel fan."

"I love Marvel," Tails smiled, "But DC is where it's at! I can't get enough of Green Arrow or Harley Quinn."

"I always thought she was a bit overrated," Iain commented.

"You clearly haven't seen the Batman and Harley Quinn movie," Tails smirked, "I see a bit of myself in her."

"I saw that DVD on your shelf," Iain smiled, "I don't know why Lily never told me you're a huge fan."

"Isn't it obvious?" Tails giggled, "She knew we won't shut up about it. I often dragged her with me to comic conventions. I'm surprised she never faked an illness or just say she didn't want to go."

"Can I ask?" Iain queried, "Has Lily always been protective?"

Tails took a deep sigh. Lily always had been protective of Tails since she was five years old. It was as if she knew what would be coming during the years ahead.

Tails has always looked up to Theresa, listening to her stories and even making her own tale up. But when Theresa turned eleven, things changed. When the girls were with the group before, Tails normally hung around with Theresa, often becoming her little sidekick, but then, Theresa often shut herself in her bedroom, away from everyone, including Tails and Lily. Tails and Theresa was always tight knit together until she starts to shut her out, with no reason behind it.

Things slowly looked up for Tails when she was ten years old and she and Theresa started making plans for their future.

"She has been," Tails admitted, "Since I was five years old. Theresa started to push everyone away. Me, Lily, mum, dad. Everyone. Lily had took on the mantle role of big sister for me whenever Theresa pushes me away. I know RB is only looking out for me, but when does she have time to breathe for herself?"

Iain took a deep breath and suddenly began to think of how similar Tails is to his own sister. He remembered walking away when his mother hit the bottle and spent more time drinking than looking after her own children. When he left, Gem had no role model to support her and because of this, she picked the wrong path which eventually led to her going to prison. Tails on the other hand had someone to look up to. Lily supported her to make the right decisions and her life has turned brilliantly. Iain suddenly felt guilty, he felt as if he should have been there for Gem, or at least, made sure someone was there to help her.

"I'm glad you know about Theresa," Tails whispered to Iain, "I don't have to worry Lily about how I'm feeling."

"You remind me of someone," Iain smiled at her, "I have a little sister, I think you two would get on well."

* * *

 _Iain and Lily walked over to the corridor, hoping to get to the Base before Donna gets to them first. She was crafty. Targeting the boys first before focusing on the girls._

 _Lily as she looked around stopped in her tracks when she saw Tails, looking for clues. Iain froze with her, curious to know what Lily is looking at when he saw Tails looking for clues. Alarmed, Lily realised that she may have got it all wrong._

 _"Iain," Lily whispered, "When I noticed my brownie went missing last Thursday, I spotted crumbs near Louise when I saw crumbs in you mouth. Why did you place the crumbs near Louise?"_

 _"Well," Iain answered confused, "It was to make sure you didn't find out. Okay should have done a better job of hiding it. Why?"_

 _"Makes it look as if it wasn't you," Lily smirked, "It think I know who the killer is!"_

 _"Finally caught on then?" Iain and Lily turned to see Tails behind them, standing by the light switch._

 _"You've been waiting to sniff someone out," Lily accused, "Well we did count the corridors as a room."_

 _"Oh it's going to be a pleasure," Tails giggled innocently, "Hey its alright, I'll give you a quick head start."_

 _Iain knew the game was up for them both as Tails is standing by the light. He knew that the game wasn't real, but he felt so exhilarated with excitement. When Lily invited him to join the party, he was worried her friends will think he's an idiot. Now, he's enjoying himself and actually feels accepted into the group of friends._

 _It dawned on Iain that Tails had yet to turn off the light. He turned to the kitchen to see Donna inside, looking for clues. Iain knew he and Lily were done for but Tails is clearly taking her time with the light. This is perfect, it'll give him and Lily a chance to out her._

 _But Lily hesitated. As Iain was about to turn, he noticed that she wouldn't move. It dawned on him that this is like the twister game, only this time, both parties are willing to let the other win._

 _It felt like hours, Iain stood memorized by the girls' interaction. If one of them had done something wrong, the other will protect them. It seemed that this isn't the first time Lily had hesitated winning against Tails and Tails is playing with Lily until it stops being fun._

 _Eventually, Tails saw Donna about to leave the kitchen to the dining room. Feeling life draining out of her, she sighed before pressing the switch..._

 _...and killing Lily and Iain._

* * *

"I have a question," Iain asked Tails whilst they were waiting for rescue to arrive.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Would your sister approve of me going out with Lily?" Iain asked cautiously, "I didn't want to ask in front of Lily as she'll check up on you."

"That's a difficult question," Tails turned to him, "You're full of yourself, you have an ego the size of an elephant, you're old, you're gullible and you're easy to wind up."

Iain looked at Tails horrified that she is able to insult him in five different ways.

"Of course she'd approved," Tails smiled, "You're an easy target for her to mess with and you take it on the chin."

Iain chuckled at Tails's comment, he felt thankful but it soon dawned on him. This is the first time he ever saw and heard Tails talk happily about Theresa. He felt sorry for Tails, it can't be easy for her to spend all this time not knowing where her sister is but all she has left of Theresa are her memories.

The pair suddenly felt the ground moving up. The maintenance team has got the lift working again, meaning that Iain and Tails won't be stuck in there much longer. Even though the ordeal was awful, both parties admitted that it was possibly a good thing that it happened, since they had no escape from each other and were forced to talk to each other, meaning they were able to get to know each other.

"Next time we meet up," Tails joked, "Can it not be like this?"

"Agreed," Iain laughed, "And I'm sorry. It was my fault we were stuck here in the first place."

"To be fair," Tails admitted, "I would have struggled to carry these boxes up."

"Shall we pretend today never happened?" Iain asked.

"Lets," Tails beamed.

* * *

 _All eyes turned on Donna as she entered the room, wondering if she worked out who it was. To their dismay, she sat down next to Lily._

 _"Tails was the killer then?" Danny asked, "Wow she is good!"_

 _"Can't believe no one worked it out," Alex groaned, "Mind you, she is sneaky."_

 _The group looked up as Tails entered the room and sat down next to Danny, smiling all the while._

 _"So worth being the designated driver," Tails laughed as she leaned on Danny's shoulder, "Sorry everyone."_

 _"No problem," Lily laughed, secretly thrilled no one sussed out what happened._

 _"I think this calls for a group photo!" Danny called out, grabbing his phone._

 _"Here," Iain said as everyone stood up, "I'll take it."_

 _Everyone frowned. Iain didn't feel like part of the family yet he was involved in the fun. Alex enjoyed their arm wrestle. Danny and Donna enjoyed his sense of humour and Luke was amazed by Iain's stories in the army. Tails however saw something in Iain. Witty, jokey and bright._

 _It was almost like he was the male version of Theresa._

 _Tails clearly wasn't having Iain miss out on being a part of this memory. She signalled to Danny who took the message as both of them walked over and grabbed Iain by the arms._

 _"No can do Iain," Tails beamed, "You're one of us now!"_

 _Iain soon realised there and then, Tails won't take no for an answer, just like Gem._

* * *

"Here it is," Tails smiled, passing the DVD to Iain, "You'll change your mind about Harley when you see her cry to get Ivy to stop her plans."

"Excuse me!" Iain shouted at her, "Spoiler free zone! What kind of kick of you get out of it?"

Lily smiled at the two. She panicked when she was told about the lift but relieved when she saw that it actually brought the two closer. Looking at them both, she had trouble. She didn't know if she was looking at Iain and Gem or Theresa and Tails. A part of her realised that she misses Theresa more than she thought.

Looking at the fridge, she suddenly remembered something.

"Be back soon," she called, "I forgot the milk."

Lily checked and door before realising one thing...

...Iain and Tails were too busy watching the film to be paying attention.

"Kids," Lily giggled before walking out.

* * *

 **I knew I had to do the murder mystery chapter but I wanted Lily and Tails to be living together whilst it was happening. Personally between DC and Marvel, I can't decide between them as the Marvel films are in a better quality, but I feel as if DC explores the characters in further depth. I apologise if I had started a war.**

 **Anyway, please review.**


	10. Chapter 10

**TheBeautifulNerd: Thank you so much, I always had the idea that I would need to bring in Iain and Tails's first meeting. I wanted Iain to bond more with Tails and hopefully this chapter brings out more.**

 **This is the story that I've been neglecting for a long while. I'm going to continue to write more about it along with my other two stories and I have a few more ideas for fanfics which I am planning out as well. I was on two minds on writing this chapter but I know I can't skip a chapter on a certain anniversary.**

 **Hope you enjoy.**

* * *

 _She can hear them. Footsteps getting louder and louder. Moving closer around her hiding place, just so she wouldn't be seen, she peaked through the hole, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. She sighed in relief when she looked at another direction, turning her attention away from her. She was thrilled, relieved, exhilarated._

 _And then she sneezed._

 _This attracted her attention now. Once again, she moved away. Out of sight. Where she can't be seen. There were two options, sit and wait to be caught or run and risk being seen. She chose the former._

 _The sound kept getting louder after each step until she heard a loud call..._

" _Gotcha!"_

 _Tails groaned, coming out of her hiding space to see Lily giggling at her, pleased that she had finally found someone. It took Lily five minutes but what annoyed Tails was that once again, she managed to get caught out before Theresa._

" _Good luck finding your sister," Lily giggled, "She's picked a good spot this time!"_

* * *

Iain woke up slightly, secretly regretting leaving his earplugs at home despite Lily's night-time choice of music. He only opened to his eye for a few seconds to find an empty space beside him, before drifting back to sleep again. It only took a few seconds before realising there is an empty space beside him.

Lily is nowhere to be seen.

Iain jolted out of bed and out of the bedroom to see Lily sitting on the floor opposite Tails's bedroom door. Confused as to why Lily chose this place for the night, he walked towards her, lowering himself beside her. Looking down, he noticed a hand over his. It was clear, Lily needs support.

"It's been fifteen years today," Lily turned to him.

Iain didn't need to ask twice about it. Since Tails moved in, Iain found that she often wakes up in the middle of the night, screaming, trembling, sweating. Iain can remember sneaking off one night for a glass of water to see Tails crying by the window. He kept quiet, not wanting to startle her. Iain noticed that both Lily and Tails requested the day off. Now he knew why.

Fifteen years.

Fifteen years since Theresa went missing.

"How are you holding up?" Iain asked her, pulling her close, "And I don't want to hear the word 'Tails'. I can talk to her when she wakes up."

"I just keep on seeing her," Lily whispered, "Her voice, especially the last thing she ever said to me."

"What was that?" Iain asked, remembering Lily telling him their last conversation was over the phone.

"You told me not to say her name," Lily whispered, water forming in her eyes, "I wish you make your mind up."

Iain can remember the day he found out about Theresa. He only just recovered from the cold he and Lily had from the rainfall that fateful day. It seemed Theresa's main priority was always going to be her little sister and that Lily then took up Theresa's mantle to protect Tails and made sure she was safe from harm. Iain can remember the day he and Tails were stuck in the lift and Lily asked him to make sure Tails is okay and calm.

"Theresa!"

Iain and Lily both looked up at Tails door. Jolting up, Lily ran straight to the door to finding Tails shaking and panting. Iain followed her, noticing beads of sweat on Tails's face, dripping over her. Her right palm is over her chest, clearly terrified of what has happened.

"Tails!" Lily called, climbing on her bed, pulling her in for a hug, "Deep breaths for me. In and out, in and out."

"I give up," Tails sobbed in Lily's chest, "I can't find her."

"Hide and seek in the park?" Lily asked as she felt Tails nodded against her chest, "You always texted me after that one."

"It's just a silly dream," Tails's sobs slowly turn to whispers.

"No, its not," Iain sighed, joining the girl on the bed, "It makes sense."

"Do you think," Tails was about to ask, "No I can't think like that."

Iain watched as Lily clenched her eyes. He remembered seeing Ethan still think about Cal, he and Lily went with him two weeks ago to see Cal's grave. He can remember Ethan joking with Cal about Iain's lift disaster, even commenting that Cal would have seduced Tails if Lily would have let him. Iain thought about Ethan and Tails's grief over their siblings. Ethan knew where Cal is, what happened to him and where he can go to see him. Tails on the other hand, doesn't know where Theresa is, what happened to her or if she's even alive.

"I wish she would come back," Tails whispered to them, feeling Iain's hand resting on hers, "Or at least knew what happened to her."

Lily held her tears in. She didn't want to think of the possibility that her best friend is dead, especially not whilst she is living with her sister. But seconds became minutes, and minutes became hours and hours become days. It must have been over four thousand days without Theresa or any sign of where she is.

"You two need to sleep," Tails muttered, breaking away from Lily's arms, "I'll be fine."

"No can do, Tails," Iain sighed, "You won't be able to get back to sleep, not after your nightmare. Lily won't be able to sleep; she'll be too busy worrying about you. And I'll be too busy worrying about you both, so it looks like no one's getting any sleep."

"No one's at work tomorrow," Lily smiled, "It'll be like a camp out. Remember?"

"I can remember Twister and Monopoly," Tails giggled, remembering the time she got Alex bankrupt.

"You could have let him pay you back," Lily frowned at her.

"I could but he did end up in jail three times," Tails giggled.

"Finally, a smile," Iain beamed, "And a happy memory."

"Okay," Tails decided, "I'm in."

* * *

Midnight struck and the group were slowly getting bored of the movie they were watching. A film about a couple sending messages not knowing that the person they were messaging were their sworn enemy. The only thing good about watching the movie were the snacks on the table, but everyone had just stuck to one thing, Lily with the Haribo, Iain with the chocolates and Tails with her popcorn.

"I swear you have a problem," Iain snorted to Tails, after filling the bowl with a third bag of popcorn.

"Have you seen Poochie?" Lily questioned, "She even stuffed a popcorn scent in her at build-a-bear workshop."

"Best extra money I ever spent," Tails beamed, shoving another handful of popcorn in her mouth, "Okay, this movie is dull. I blame the idiot who suggested it!"

"It was your idea!" Iain pointed out.

"I know. I blame myself," Tails muttered, turning it off, leaving the room pitch black.

Tails suddenly froze after seeing this. The entire room was pitch black except for the lights from outside. The only sounds she could hear were the sounds of Lily and Iain breathing. The only thing she could feel was the plastic from the switch.

It gave her an idea!

* * *

Lily and Iain were alarmed when they heard someone running to the bedrooms. Tails was up to something, but neither could work out what she was up to. The only thing they could feel was the fabric of the sofa. They can also only see orange from the windows outside. And the sound of creaky footsteps was the only sound the two of them could hear.

They jumped when a light suddenly flickered, brightening the room a little bit. Iain and Lily turned and saw Tails looking at them smiling all round before smirking, evilly at the couple. Growing up, Lily knew that it only meant one thing.

"Scary stories?" Lily giggled, to Iain's confusion, "You're on."

"On?" Iain asked them both.

"When we were younger, we used to take turns telling spooky stories," Lily explains, "The best one is the one who gives the others fright."

"It seemed appropriate," Tails explained, sitting down, "It was Theresa's favourite thing to do. So, whose first?"

"I'll go," Lily suggested, as Tails passed the torch over to her, "I'm not going to win so why wait?"

It was a long shot for Lily. Iain and Tails are two people who really don't scare easy, so she knew she wasn't going to win. So why should she have to wait, when everyone know she was going to fail at telling the story. But she's ready to start off with a harmless story.

"Okay," Lily took a deep breath, recalling a story she found online, "There were these three girls. One was a girl of sixteen, getting ready to go and meet her boyfriend. Another is also sixteen, determined to get away from her family and the final one is seventeen, wanting to return home after her car broke down. They were on their way back from a party, when they encountered a young girl. Her face was as pale as snow and her hair battled all the elements put together. But she seemed scared, so the girls decide to help her."

Tails and Iain looked at each other, clearly Lily thought this story out. Maybe they should decide to throw in the towel straight away and admit nothing they could suggest can top Lily's story.

"She wanted to find her way home, so the girls offered to help her. They entered a dark pathway, quiet. There were no headlights, no passing vehicles, the only sounds they could hear were the steady breathing and the footsteps each of the three made."

"Three?" Iain asked, there were four girls there now, weren't there?

"Yes," Lily smirked, "The route was creepy and each of the three helpers were terrified. The young girl however reassured them. After all, 'I was scared when I was still alive.'"

Lily looked up, hoping to see the reaction of Iain and Tails, but instead of seeing the two of them looking frightened, they just looked at each other, confused with the story.

"I told you it was rubbish," Lily groaned, "Scary stories aren't my expertise."

"Here pass it," Iain smiled, taking the torch from Lily, "Let me show you how it's done."

Lily and Tails smirked at each other. Iain had no creative style. Knowing him, he'll probably come up with some parody of a rubbish horror film.

"One night a man was given an opportunity by his boss for a huge promotion," Iain started, "The promotion came with a huge mansion for him and his wife and son to move into."

"Heard it!" Lily and Tails interrupted him.

"What?" Iain asked them.

"You're telling a story based on 'the Shining'," Lily explained, "I've seen the film."

"And I've read the book," Tails smirked, "And I've read it before I went to bed as well so it's not that scary."

"Okay," Iain smirked, handing the torch over to Tails, "Let's see you try."

"Okay," Tails whistled, taking the torch, "But trust me. It isn't easy to talk about it. After all, how could you bring up that one night the lights switched off?"

Lily and Iain were startled already, Tails really thought this story through. She must have been planning it for a long time, way before she came up with the idea that they tell each other spooky stories. What was the girl planning?

"We were riding our bikes back to the school. Me, Liam and Deana. Once again, I felt third wheeled by the two of them, they never allowed couples to be together after curfew at school, so they took me along. Nothing suspicious about three friends going out to the gardens after classes were finished. We decided to walk back with our bikes, but the sun had already set, and the headlights begun to flicker, slowly, before they all switched off, one by one."

Lily and Iain looked at each other, before the only light in the room was switched off. Leaving the three of them in pitch black.

"We thought it was going to be dark, but then we saw a ray of lights of all different colours. Pink, blue, green, yellow, you name it. Deana was the risk taker of the three, the rebel with a cause, she made the decision to walk towards the light, telling me and Liam to wait there. When we, we heard."

Tails heard a silent movement, she composed herself when she realised that Lily and Iain moved to take each other's hand. She wanted that effect. It made her story believable.

"Liam slowly got up, he told me to head back to the school gate. He walked towards the light, determined to find out where Deana had gone off. I did as I was told and I walked back to the school, I knew the way back, so I wasn't scared that I was going to get lost."

Iain didn't want to admit it, but the way Tails is telling the story was making his stomach churn. What happened to Deana and Liam? Those two do sound familiar, but somehow, Iain couldn't put his mind on how.

"I waited at the gates, but still no show of Liam or Deana. I was called back to my dormitory. It seemed the two of them wanted some privacy, so they used the lights to their advantage. The next day, I was questioned by our teachers. Neither Liam nor Deana turned up for breakfast. Liam didn't show up for his Saturday biology class, and Deana didn't turn up for football practice. I was worried, so I walked back to the sight of the lights. But I followed the path both Liam and Deana took, when I saw a fairground. I was cautious, there was no announcement of a funfair coming near the school."

Lily felt her pulse racing, this was worrying. What was happening to Tails? Where were her friends?

"I noticed that the fairground was completely empty. There was no one in plain sight. What felt even weirder was that there was only one ride, covered up in a huge blanket. I walked closer, grabbing the cover only to find."

The lights suddenly switched back on and Iain and Lily both screamed when in Tails's place on the sofa, were two skeletons, dressed in…hang on! Did Tails just steal their clothes and dressed two fake skeletons in?

"That's cheating!" Iain accused her, "And where did you get those skeletons from?"

"Danny directs plays as well," Tails smiled, "And you two were so distracted by the story, you didn't notice me grabbing the two wooden skeletons."

"Sadly, the rules never said you can't use props," Lily gasped, clutching her chest, convince Tails has given her a heart attack, "But this was why I can't stand funfairs. There are too many scary stories about them."

"Yeah," Iain tried to compose himself, "Thanks Tails, you've put me off them as well."

Iain and Lily noticed that Tails was silent. They suddenly remembered the reason why they were up tonight. She was unable to cope with what has happened fifteen years ago. The day her sister went missing. Their primary focus was so successful, they forgotten why they were doing this in the first place. The plan to help Tails come to terms with Theresa's disappearance, but they realised that this is the first time in a while that Tails has smiled on the day. They turned to see her sitting by the window, not know what the young doctor was thinking.

"Tails?" Lily asked, walking next to her, "You okay?"

"Theresa and I came up with that story together," she whispered, tears building in her eyes, before she wipes them away, "We had it planned out, to use it when we felt the need to scare a couple. I never thought we'd be able to tell it. Not until tonight. I can't believe I took that moment away."

It soon dawned on Lily why Tails had been feeling uncertain.

"Do you think she's still alive?" Lily knew she was treading on cold water, but it was the only way she could be certain.

"I know she is," Tails looked at her, "If she was dead, I'd know."

Lily wanted to cry; she really did. She realised that no matter how hard she wanted to believe that Theresa would come back, there is still hope. Maybe Theresa was still out there, waiting to be found.

"All that I do know," Tails looked at Lily and then Iain, "I want my sister to come back. I miss her so much. But right now, the people in this room, they're all the family I need right now."

Lily smiled, pulling Tails in for a hug, vowing to keep her close, even during the darkest of days. Iain couldn't help but smile at the two. He remembered hearing a song, sung by a young woman.

" _When there's no getting over that rainbow,_

 _When my smallest of dreams won't come true,_

 _I can take all the madness, the world has to give,_

 _But I won't last a day without you."_

Iain soon realised right there, that song wasn't just about lovers. It was about long-time friends who have been through so much, but it hasn't destroyed their bond with each other. That song fits Lily and Tails completely.

It suddenly dawned on Iain what Tails just said. She didn't say Lily was all the family she needed.

"Wait," Iain asked her, "When you said, 'the people in this room'?"

"I mean it," Tails smiled at him, "I've got two amazing older sisters, and you as well, Bro."

Iain couldn't believe it. When he first met Tails, he was nervous, especially when he learned that Lily always had a soft spot for her. He was nervous that he was going to ruin things by getting on her bad side. So, to be referred to as 'bro' really touched him.

"Thanks," he walked over to the girls, "Sis."

* * *

 **This is more of a filler chapter but it is a topic that I wanted to deal with. The song I based this chapter on was the Carpenters "Won't Last a Day Without You" which is the main song I wanted to use for the full story.**

 **I hope you like it.**


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